overlook
Americanverb (used with object)
-
overlooks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
overlooked,
past participle, past
-
overlooking
present participle
-
to fail to notice, perceive, or consider.
to overlook a misspelled word.
- Synonyms:
- miss
-
to disregard or ignore indulgently, as faults or misconduct.
Only a parent could overlook that kind of behavior.
-
to look over, as from a higher position.
a balcony that overlooks the ballroom.
-
to afford a view over; look down or out upon.
a hill overlooking the sea.
-
to rise above.
The Washington Monument overlooks the tidal basin.
-
a minor infraction we can overlook this time.
-
to look over in inspection, examination, or perusal.
They allowed us to overlook the proposed contract.
-
to look after, oversee, or supervise.
She has to overlook a large number of employees.
-
Archaic. to look upon with the evil eye; bewitch.
noun
-
overlooks
plural
verb
-
to fail to notice or take into account
-
to disregard deliberately or indulgently
-
to look at or over from above
the garden is overlooked by the prison
-
to afford a view of from above
the house overlooks the bay
-
to rise above
-
to look after
-
to look at carefully
-
to bewitch or cast the evil eye upon (someone)
noun
-
a high place affording a view
-
an act of overlooking
Synonym Usage
See slight.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
overlooksimple
-
overlookssimple
-
have overlookedperfect
-
has overlookedperfect
-
am overlookingprogressive
-
are overlookingprogressive
-
is overlookingprogressive
-
have been overlookingperfect progressive
-
has been overlookingperfect progressive
Past
-
overlookedsimple
-
had overlookedperfect
-
was overlookingprogressive
-
were overlookingprogressive
-
had been overlookingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of overlook
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English; see origin at over-, look
Explanation
To overlook something is to fail to see it. When planning a party, it's best to write out a to-do list so that you don't overlook any details. The verb overlook literally means to look over the top of. The word has come to refer to the act of neglecting something, usually because your focus is aimed elsewhere. You might overlook the cost of car insurance if you’re busy calculating the cost of buying the car and paying for gas and parking. As a noun, an overlook is a space high above ground. You might overlook your curfew if you're busy enjoying an overlook with your date.
Vocabulary lists containing overlook
Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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Vocabulary from the Lyrics of Pete Seeger
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"Why Women Should Vote" by Jane Addams (1910)
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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.
See Examples For:
BofA says investors continue to overlook value stocks, which work particularly well in a new era of higher interest rates and inflation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
Wordless storytelling, an homage to silent films, is a cinematic scripting choice that demands a deeper level of acting ability we might otherwise overlook in a movie like this.
From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2026
It’s a very simple trick that most actors overlook.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
When it comes time to sell your home, don’t overlook tax breaks that could save you a significant amount of money.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 8, 2026
During her afternoon break, Nadia convinces me to quiz her on her vocab words up in the Big Round Pumpkin overlook.
From "Invisible Inkling" by Emily Jenkins
One it overlooks is the risk that the Clarity Act could be used to expand prediction-market sports betting at the expense of tribal sovereignty and the public services tribal gaming revenues support.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Yes, it overlooks a nest of alleyways, and no, management does not like people going up there, and no, I don’t know all my neighbors by name or even sight yet.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026
If you drive on the 101 Freeway, you might catch a glimpse of the giant Minion that overlooks the city from the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
Julia Dawber's home overlooks an expanse of scenic coastline, and she says as many as nine campervans can park up near the shore at any one time.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
It overlooks the garden, but Hannah’s table is hidden by a brick column choked with ivy.
From "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher
Kusama became one of the world's most recognisable artists and a global cultural icon in her 80s and 90s, after having been mostly overlooked for decades.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
But her open-hearted grace and ability to take such slights in stride resonated with everyday folks otherwise overlooked by upper-crust tastemakers.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
The first overlooked ruler identified by Edmonds and Frahm used the name Tiglath-pileser, apparently adopting the name of an earlier Assyrian king.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
“The daily dispatches shine a light on a wide range of often overlooked good news in our community.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
But Aru was beginning to think that, maybe, being overlooked or considered different wasn’t always a bad thing.
From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi
They drive what seems to be about 45 minutes to the resort, through wooded forests on windy roads, and arrive in a tropical location overlooking miles of white sandy beach.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
In a yurt on a hill overlooking the surf on the North Shore, young scientists create parts on 3-D printers for wastewater-treatment machines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
On a Turkish hillside overlooking the olive-covered slopes outside Izmir is a cave known to generations of locals as the place where Homer penned "The Odyssey".
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
A large crowd gathered to watch the bonfire, while police observed from the city walls overlooking the Bogside.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
On an overlooking hill was the turreted mansion occupied by the company general superintendent, a man sent down by our owners in Ohio to keep an eye on their assets.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
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.
