look

The word “look” means to direct one's eyes toward something in order to see it. In plain terms, to use your eyes to see something, to appear a certain way, or a general glance or appearance.

“Look” is pronounced luuk (/lʊk/ in IPA).

Here is “look” used in a sentence: “Look over there — do you see the deer?”

Words with a similar meaning to “look” include behold, clock, geek, kool, regard and squizz.

Depending on how it is used, “look” can be a verb and a noun.

The word “look” comes from Old English. From Old English locian ("to look, gaze"), of West Germanic origin with no certain relatives outside the Germanic languages.

“Look” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.

“Look” has 5 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: to direct one's eyes toward something in order to see it.

'Look' is deliberate — you direct your eyes at something on purpose. 'See' is passive; it simply means your eyes register something, whether you meant to or not. You look at a painting to study it, but you see a flash of lightning without trying. Look is the action; see is the result.

You 'look at' something still or momentary — a photo, a sign, a face. You 'watch' something that moves or changes over time, giving it sustained attention — a film, a match, or children playing. Looking is a single directed glance, while watching means following something closely as it unfolds.

English has many verbs for how we look. A 'glance' is quick and brief, a 'stare' is long and fixed, and a 'gaze' is steady and often admiring. To 'peek' is to look secretly or briefly, to 'peer' is to look hard at something unclear, and to 'glare' is to look angrily.