Overlook

How to spell overlook

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce overlook

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does overlook mean?

1. verbTo fail to notice something, or to choose to ignore a fault or mistake.
2. verbTo have a view of something from a higher position above it.
3. nounA high place, often beside a road or trail, that gives a wide view of the surroundings.

Overlook in a sentence

• verb

  The auditor warned that a single missing receipt is easy to overlook.

• verb

  The hotel rooms on the top floor overlook the harbour.

• noun

  We parked at the mountain overlook to photograph the valley below.

• verb

  Managers should not overlook repeated lateness from staff.

• verb

  Their flat is expensive because it can overlook the entire park.

• noun

  A wooden railing runs along the edge of the canyon overlook.

Where does overlook come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a compound built from two thoroughly English elements: the prefix over-, from Old English ofer meaning 'above' or 'beyond', and the verb look, from Old English locian meaning 'to use the eyes' or 'to gaze'. The word appeared in the late medieval period and originally carried the literal sense of looking down on something from a higher position, as a hill looks down on a valley. From that physical sense grew a more figurative one: to look over something so casually that you miss it, hence 'to fail to notice'. A third strand, 'to pass over a fault without punishing it', also developed from the idea of letting your gaze slide past. Because both halves of the word are common everyday English, the spelling is regular, though the doubled 'o' at the join (over plus look) is occasionally a small snag.

How the word is built

• over- (above, beyond)
• look (to see, from Old English locian)