look over

verb

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

The verdict

“look over” 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 quickly check, to give a brief or cursory visual inspection.

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

Where “look over” sits in English frequency

look over 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 over 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. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No generated misspelling entries exist for look over in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct English form is look over, spelled L-O-O-K- -O-V-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    To quickly check, to give a brief or cursory visual inspection.
  2. 2
    To move (one's eyes) so as to inspect or take in (someone or something).
  3. 3
    To quickly read or (especially) proofread; to quickly scan text, especially while checking for errors.
  4. 4
    Synonym of overlook, to survey, to look at as if from on high.

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 over"?
"look over" is spelled L-O-O-K- -O-V-E-R.
What does "look over" mean?
As a verb, "look over" means: To quickly check, to give a brief or cursory visual inspection.
What language does "look over" come from?
"look over" 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 over”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is L-O-O-K- -O-V-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