Meaning & use
gawk at
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Meaning
verbtransitiveinformaldisapproving
To stare at someone or something in an openly curious, rude or stunned way.
Grammar: Takes at before the object: tourists gawk at the buildings.
Patterns
- gawk at something
- gawk at someone
- stop gawking at something
Drivers slowed down to gawk at the accident.
Tourists stood in the street and gawked at the tall buildings.
Please do not gawk at the performers; it makes them uncomfortable.
Word forms
| third person singular | gawks at |
|---|---|
| past tense | gawked at |
| past participle | gawked at |
| -ing form | gawking at |
Common combinations
- gawk at the scene
- A crowd gathered to gawk at the scene of the crash.
- stop gawking at
- Stop gawking at the celebrity and let her eat.
- gawk openly
- Visitors gawked openly at the huge sculpture.
- gawk in amazement
- We gawked in amazement at the fireworks.
- gawk at a stranger
- It is rude to gawk at a stranger.
Synonyms and how they differ
- stare at
- Stare at is neutral and can be intense for any reason, while gawk at suggests silly or rude amazement.
- gape at
- Gape at stresses open-mouthed surprise, so it is close, but gawk is more informal.
- ogle
- Ogle usually means staring with sexual interest and is more offensive than gawk at.
- rubberneck
- Rubberneck means turning your head to look at an accident or scene, and is more specific than gawk at.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: gawk at or gawky? gawk at or gaze at?
gawk at vs gawky
Gawky means awkward or clumsy in movement, while gawk is a verb meaning to stare.
gawk at vs gaze at
Gaze at means to look steadily, often with admiration or wonder, without the rude tone of gawk at.
Practice
The audience was asked not to ___ the performers during the show.
Choose one answer.
Gawk takes at before the thing stared at: gawk at the performers. Without at the verb is incomplete here, and for and from do not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “gawk at”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.