looking
look·ing/ˈlʊkɪŋ/verb, noun
looking is spelled L-O-O-K-I-N-G: 7 letters and 2 syllables (look·ing). It appears 372 times per million words in written English, the 242nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, looking means “as the last part of compound adjectives: relating to or having the appearance of” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in looking?
| Letters | 7: L-O-O-K-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: look·ing |
| In writing | 372 times per million words; the 242nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is looking?
Looking appears 372 times per million words in written English, the 242nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce looking?
- /ˈlʊkɪŋ/
Looking has 2 syllables, split look·ing in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-looking.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of looking
- lookings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does looking mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of look
- 2
as the last part of compound adjectives: relating to or having the appearance of.
dorky-looking
noun
- 1
The act of one who looks; a glance.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate looking?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of looking: lkng.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Looking in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense noun:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | miramiento |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does looking come from?
From Middle English lokynge, from earlier lokinde, lokende, from Old English lōciende, present participle of Old English lōcian (“to look”), equivalent to look + -ing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).