Jump To:

• lookout
  lookout

  noun

  the act of looking out or keeping watch.
• Lookout
  Lookout

  noun

  Cape Lookout, a sandy reef in the Outer Banks, off eastern North Carolina, southwest of Cape Hatteras: known for its lighthouse.

lookout

¹ American  

[look-aut] / ˈlʊkˌaʊt /

noun

• lookouts
  plural

1. the act of looking out or keeping watch.

2. a watch kept, as for something that may happen.

3. a person or group keeping a watch.

   Synonyms:

   guard, patrol, sentry, sentinel

4. a station or place from which a watch is kept.

5. an object of care or concern.

   That's not my lookout.

6. tailpiece.

7. Chiefly British. view; prospect; outlook.

   The business lookout is far from optimistic.

---

Lookout ² American  

[look-aut] / ˈlʊkˌaʊt /

noun

1. Cape Lookout, a sandy reef in the Outer Banks, off eastern North Carolina, southwest of Cape Hatteras: known for its lighthouse.

---

lookout British  

/ ˈlʊkˌaʊt /

noun

1. the act of keeping watch against danger, etc

2. a person or persons instructed or employed to keep such a watch, esp on a ship

3. a strategic point from which a watch is kept

4. informal worry or concern

   that's his lookout

5. outlook, chances, or view

---

verb

1. to heed one's behaviour; be careful

   look out for the children's health

2. to be on the watch

   look out for my mother at the station

3. (tr) to search for and find

   I'll look out some curtains for your new house

4. to face in a particular direction

   the house looks out over the moor

lookout Idioms  

1. see keep an eye out for (sharp lookout); on the lookout. Also see entries beginning with look out.

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• lookouts
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of lookout

First recorded in 1690–1700; noun use of verb phrase look out

---

Explanation

The neighborhood kids might use a tree house as a lookout, from which they can keep an eye out for the local bully. A lookout is usually so high that a person can see for a long distance in many directions when she stands on or in it. Armies sometimes use lookouts to scout for approaching troops, and navy ships include a lookout at the top of a tall mast, also called a "crow's nest." Lookout can also be spelled as a hyphenated word, "look-out," and used as well to refer to the person whose job it is to stay in the lookout and keep watch.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lookout Lookout lookouts

The self-declared modern-day Miss Marple warned Kenny to be on the lookout for anyone acting differently, reasoning that "if you're suddenly a traitor, you're going to be a bit on high alert".

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

Those expectations arrive as Wall Street remains on the lookout for signs of weakness among consumers, whose spending has held up even as gas prices have climbed this year amid persistent inflation.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 13, 2026

Not until I am able to test it more fully, so be on the lookout for that review in a few weeks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

But I’m going to watch it anyway because — I mean, come on — it’s “Pride and Prejudice” and I’m just a girl who’s always on the lookout for slow-burn tension and hand-flex close-ups.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

So it was from my lookout post in Great-great-aunt Florentine’s room that I saw Peach arrive.

From Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles

The Los Angeles Police Department responded to a robbery call in the 8500 block of Lookout Mountain Avenue around 8 p.m.,

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2026

Lookout Hill: Yarn and Art Supplies – I passed this shop a few times and couldn’t get over how charming it looked.

From Salon ● Mar. 31, 2026

In addition to the New York City apartment, Dreyer and Fichera also shared a stunning beach house in Point Lookout, N.Y., which was purchased back in 2021 for $2.5 million.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 28, 2025

Appeared in the November 4, 2025, print edition as 'Wall Street Intensifies Lookout For Fraud'.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2025

And then the lifesavers atop Lookout Hill fired another rocket into the wet sky, and I whirled in its light to see where the ship had foundered.

From "Beyond the Bright Sea" by Lauren Wolk

Instead, they act as digital lookouts who hunt for coveted vintage apartments that are otherwise hard to find without expertise.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026

They had plate numbers and makes and models of cars, and sometimes even VINs; they had scouts and lookouts; they had canvassed businesses and compiled surveillance footage.

From Slate ● Oct. 27, 2025

"Visibility towards Port Talbot at the site was restricted due to a curve in the track, so the need for two lookouts was identified, with four men carrying out the work," he said.

From BBC ● Feb. 15, 2025

The Hostage Families Forum Headquarters, an umbrella body representing the families of those held captive, identified the five lookouts as Naama Levy, Agam Berger, Liri Albag, Karina Ariev and Daniela Gilboa.

From New York Times ● May 22, 2024

The plaza was empty, and he saw no lookouts on the paths, no boats on the water, no one on the distant bridge.

From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• sentry

---