Overlooked

How to spell overlooked

10 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce overlooked

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does overlooked mean?

1. verbFailed to notice or consider something, or deliberately ignored it.
2. verbHad a position from which a view of something below could be seen.

Overlooked in a sentence

• The auditor overlooked a small but costly error in the accounts.

• The hotel balcony overlooked a quiet harbour.

• She felt overlooked for promotion despite years of strong results.

• Their flat overlooked the park from the top floor.

Where does overlooked come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word is a compound built entirely from native English parts, joining the prefix 'over-' to the verb 'look'. The prefix 'over-' descends from Old English 'ofer', meaning 'above' or 'beyond', a relative of the same root that gives German 'über'. The verb 'look' comes from Old English 'locian', meaning 'to use the eyes, to gaze'. When the two were combined, the literal sense was 'to look down on from above', which is why one meaning still describes a window or hill that commands a view over something below. From that physical idea grew the figurative sense of letting your gaze pass over something without registering it, hence 'to fail to notice'. The double 'o' in the middle (the meeting of 'over' and 'look') is the usual spelling snag, since each half is simple but writers sometimes drop or add a letter at the seam.

How the word is built

• over- (above, beyond)
• look (to direct the eyes)
• -ed (past tense/participle)