Dictionary.com

Popular Searches

 Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

onlooker

American  
[on-look-er, awn-] / ˈɒnˌlʊk ər, ˈɔn- /

noun

  1. spectator; observer; witness.

onlooker British  
/ ˈɒnˌlʊkə /

noun

  1. a person who observes without taking part

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • onlooking adjective

Etymology

Origin of onlooker

1600–10; on + looker, after verb phrase look on

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Curious onlookers filmed the scene on their smartphones, many still incredulous at the speed and magnitude of the day's events.

From Barron's

BBC Verify has been examining videos taken by survivors and onlookers and speaking to fire safety experts to find clues about what went wrong.

From BBC

Girl Scouts sing carols as onlookers sip cocoa at the annual lighting ceremony.

From Salon

Carolers meandered through town, drawing no more than a dozen onlookers as they sang “Angels We Have Heard on High” and asked shop owners whether holiday crowds might return.

From The Wall Street Journal

For neighbors, the Reiner deaths mean the loss of community members — connections not shown on television cameras or felt by curious onlookers.

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.