look */*/*/

I UK [lʊk] / US verb
Word forms "look":
present tense I/you/we/they look he/she/it looks present participle looking past tense looked past participle looked

1) [intransitive] to direct your eyes towards someone or something so that you can see them

Looking closely you could see traces of grey in her hair.

look at:

Dan looked at his watch.

Susannah looked at herself in the mirror.

look down/away/through etc:

If you look through this window, you can see the cathedral.

2) [intransitive] to search for someone or something

I don't know where the keys are. I've looked everywhere.

look for:

I spent most of the morning looking for my passport.

look through/under/in etc:

The burglar had looked through all the cupboards and drawers.

3) [linking verb] to have a particular appearance

The room looked a complete mess.

He looked about twenty.

look like:

"What does your brother look like?" "He's tall and thin, with brown hair."

look happy/tired/funny etc:

He looked very funny in his hat.

look important/strange/interesting etc:

An important-looking letter arrived for Dave.

look as if/as though:

Brian looked as if he was going to cry.

a) look your age to look as old as you really are

Richard doesn't look his age at all.

b) not look yourself to look different than you usually do, for example ill, tired, or unhappy

He didn't look himself when I saw him yesterday.

c) look your best to look as good as you can

It was a first date, and Emily wanted to look her best.

4) [linking verb] to think about something in a particular way

look at:

John thinks that success is being rich, but I don't look at it like that.

5) [linking verb] to seem to be something

That new film looks good.

Things were beginning to look a bit gloomy.

look a fool/idiot etc:

You've made me look such an idiot!

6) [linking verb] used for giving your opinion about how likely it is that something will happen or be true

look certain/unlikely etc to do something:

He looks certain to win the competition.

it looks like/it looks as if (= it seems likely that):

It looks like Bill will be able to come too.

look like doing something (= seem as though something will happen):

Arsenal never looked like winning the game.

7) [intransitive, always in imperative] spoken used when you want someone to look at something surprising or interesting

Look! There's John!

a) used for making a suggestion or when you want someone to pay attention to what you are going to say

Look, why don't we meet up for a drink and talk about it then?

b) look what/how

spoken used for giving an example that proves that what you are saying is true

It's not a good idea to travel without insurance: look what happened to Bill.

Look how long it took Mel to get a job.

8) [intransitive] if a building or room looks in a particular direction, it faces that direction

look north/south etc:

He strolled towards the huge windows that looked south across London.

look out over something:

My room looked out over the lake.

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(I'm) just looking — spoken used for telling someone who works in a shop that you do not yet know whether you want to buy anything

look good/bad — to be considered a good/bad thing to do; to seem to be going to have a good/bad result

Do you think it will look bad if I don't go and see him?

look good/bad for:

Things aren't looking too good for him at the moment.

look here! — old-fashioned used for getting someone's attention when you are angry or annoyed about something that they have done

Look here, we are not the ones to blame for this situation.

look someone in the eye/face — informal to look at someone when you are talking to them, especially to show that what you are saying is true

Can you look me in the eye and say that you really love him?

look what you're doing/where you're going — spoken used for telling someone to be more careful

Look what you're doing! You nearly knocked the lamp off the table.

look who's here/look who it is — spoken used when someone arrives and you are surprised

- don't look now

- look before you leap

- look down your nose at

- be looking to do something

- look the other way

- look someone up and down

- look what you've done

- need look no further

Phrasal verbs:

- look after

- look ahead

- look around

- look at

- look back

- look down on

- look for

- look forward to

- look in

- look into

- look on

- look out

- look out for

- look over

- look through

- look to

- look up

- look up to

II UK [lʊk] / US noun
Word forms "look":
singular look plural looks

1) [countable, usually singular] an act of looking at someone or something

have/take a look at:

Can I have a look at your new skateboard?

have a good/close look (= look carefully):

He got out of the car so he could have a closer look.

2) [countable, usually singular] an expression that you have on your face or in your eyes

a look on someone's face:

I could tell by the look on his face that he was not happy.

a look in someone's eyes:

He had that look in his eyes that always meant trouble.

give someone a look (= look at them in a particular way):

She gave me a worried look.

a dirty look (= an unfriendly look):

I don't know why he's giving me such dirty looks.

a look of surprise/horror/disgust etc:

She saw the look of surprise on Nicky's face.

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Collocations:
Adjectives frequently used with look
▪  dirty, knowing, puzzled, questioning, quizzical, searching, thoughtful, withering

3) [countable, usually singular] the appearance that someone or something has

have a ... look about/to it:

The town had a very run-down look about it.

by the look(s) of:

By the looks of him, he hadn't had a wash for days.

not like the look of someone/something (= think they look bad, unpleasant etc):

I don't like the look of him.

a) looks

[plural] the attractive appearance of someone, especially their face

She's got everything – looks, intelligence, and money.

lose your looks:

Even as she grew older, she never lost her looks.

b) [countable] a particular style in clothes, furniture etc

Let us help you to create a stylish modern look for your home.

4) [countable, usually singular] an act of searching for someone or something

have a look for:

I don't know where the book is, but I'll have a look for it.

5) [countable, usually singular] an act of thinking carefully about a problem or situation

take/have a look at something:

We need to have a look at the way we deal with orders.

take a (long) hard look at something (= think very carefully and seriously about it):

You seem to be permanently stressed out – I think you should take a long hard look at your life.

take a fresh look at something (= think about it again in a different way):

Insurance companies are taking a fresh look at Singapore's earthquake risks.

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- a look around

- exchange looks

- take one look at