look like

verb

"look-like" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“look like” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a verb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To resemble or have the appearance of being; to seem to be.

Key facts for look like
PropertyValue
Headwordlook like
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “look like” sits in English frequency

look like 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.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for look like is 9 letters long, classified as a verb. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "To resemble or have the appearance of being; to seem to be.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for look like, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English loken like, equivalent to look + like (conjunction and preposition). The correct English form is look like, spelled L-O-O-K- -L-I-K-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To resemble or have the appearance of being; to seem to be.

Etymology

From Middle English loken like, equivalent to look + like (conjunction and preposition).

This word in other languages

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 like"?
"look like" is spelled L-O-O-K- -L-I-K-E.
What does "look like" mean?
As a verb, "look like" means: To resemble or have the appearance of being; to seem to be.
What is the origin of the word "look like"?
From Middle English loken like, equivalent to look + like (conjunction and preposition). See the full etymology section above for more details.
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 like”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is L-O-O-K- -L-I-K-E - 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