Look

How to spell look

4 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce look

What does look mean?

1. verbTo direct one's eyes toward something in order to see it.
2. nounAn act of looking, or the general appearance of someone or something.

Look in a sentence

• verb

  She paused to look at the painting in the hallway.

• noun

  One look at the bill told her something was wrong.

• verb

  Drivers should always look both ways before crossing.

• noun

  The new kitchen has a clean, modern look.

Where does look come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word comes from the Old English verb locian, which meant 'to use one's eyes' or 'to gaze'. It belongs to a small Germanic family, with relatives in Old Saxon lokon and Old High German luogen, both carrying the sense of watching or spying out, yet curiously the word never spread widely into the other Germanic languages, so its deeper roots are a little obscure. Over the centuries the meaning broadened from the simple act of directing the eyes to include the idea of appearing or seeming a certain way, as in 'you look tired'. The familiar double 'o' spelling reflects the long-standing English habit of writing this short rounded vowel with two letters, the same pattern seen in 'book' and 'cook'. Because the word is so short and phonetically regular, it rarely causes spelling trouble for adults.

How the word is built

• look (from Old English locian, to use the eyes)