look after

verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"look-after" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“look after” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To follow with the eyes; to look in the direction of (someone or something departing).

Key facts for look after
PropertyValue
Headwordlook after
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “look after” sits in English frequency

look after falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

look after is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.

look after has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct English form is look after, spelled L-O-O-K- -A-F-T-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    To follow with the eyes; to look in the direction of (someone or something departing).
  2. 2
    To seek out, to look for.
  3. 3
    To care for; to keep safe.
  4. 4
    To have as one's business; to manage, be responsible for.
  5. 5
    To expect, look forward to.

This word in other languages

cuidar(Español)s'occuper de(Français)pflegen(Deutsch)cuidar(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "look after"?
"look after" is spelled L-O-O-K- -A-F-T-E-R.
What does "look after" mean?
As a verb, "look after" means: To follow with the eyes; to look in the direction of (someone or something departing).
What language does "look after" come from?
"look after" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “look after”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is L-O-O-K- -A-F-T-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list