overlook
/ˈəʊ.vəˌlʊk/
"overlook" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“overlook” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #14,376 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #14,376
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 5
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A vista or point that gives a view down toward something else.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | overlook |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈəʊ.vəˌlʊk/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #14,376 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 5 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “overlook” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for overlook is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈəʊ.vəˌlʊk/. Corpus data places it at rank #14,376 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A vista or point that gives a view down toward something else.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for overlook, with forms such as "oevrlook", "ovelrook", and "overllook". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "overlord", "overtook", "overwork", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English overloken; equivalent to over- + look. The correct English form is overlook, spelled O-V-E-R-L-O-O-K.
Definition
- 1A vista or point that gives a view down toward something else.
Etymology
From Middle English overloken; equivalent to over- + look.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: oevrlook,ovelrook,overllook,overlok,overloko,overlookk,overolok,overrlook,ovrelook,ovverlook,voerlook
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of overlook - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “overlook”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is O-V-E-R-L-O-O-K - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈəʊ.vəˌlʊk/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “overlord” - see the side-by-side comparison. overlook vs overlord
- 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.