Meaning & use
look at
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Meanings
verbphrasal verb
To point your eyes toward someone or something so that you can see it.
Grammar: The object always follows at: look at the picture, not look the picture.
Patterns
- look at someone
- look at something
Look at that rainbow over the hills!
She looked at her watch and sighed.
Don't look at me like that; I did not take it.
verbphrasal verb
To examine or consider something carefully in order to understand or judge it.
Grammar: Often used with ideas or plans as the object: look at the options.
Patterns
- look at something
- look at doing something
The committee will look at the budget on Tuesday.
We need to look at all the options before we decide.
A mechanic is going to look at the brakes this afternoon.
verbphrasal verb
To regard something in a particular way or from a certain point of view.
Grammar: Needs a manner phrase: look at it differently.
Patterns
- look at something as something
- look at things differently
I try to look at failure as a chance to learn.
Looking at it from her side, his anger makes sense.
They look at life very differently now.
Word forms
| third person singular | looks at |
|---|---|
| past tense | looked at |
| past participle | looked at |
| -ing form | looking at |
Common combinations
- look closely at
- Look closely at the second line of the contract.
- look at the bright side
- Try to look at the bright side; at least nobody was hurt.
- look at it this way
- Look at it this way: you now know what not to do.
- look at the big picture
- Let's look at the big picture before we decide.
- look the other way
- He looked the other way while the rule was broken.
Synonyms and how they differ
- gaze at
- Gaze at suggests a long, steady look, often from admiration or deep thought, whereas look at can be quick and casual.
- examine
- Examine is more formal and implies careful checking in detail, while look at can also mean a brief glance.
- consider
- Consider only means think about something and has no sense of using your eyes.
- glance at
- Glance at means a very quick look, shorter than the usual look at.
Opposites
Word family
- look verb
- to direct your eyes
- looker noun
- a person who looks, or informally an attractive person
- onlooker noun
- someone who watches an event without taking part
- looking-glass noun
- an old word for a mirror
Commonly confused: look at or watch? look at or see?
look at vs watch
Watch means to follow something that moves or changes, such as a film, while look at suggests a still object or a single glance.
look at vs see
See describes what your eyes take in without effort, whereas look at is a deliberate action.
Practice
Before we sign anything, let's ______ the details of the agreement properly.
Choose one answer.
Look at means examine or consider carefully. Look after means take care of, look for means search, and look up means find in a reference.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “look at”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.