overlook

[ verb oh-ver-look; noun oh-ver-look ]
See synonyms for: overlookoverlookedoverlookingoverlooks on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
  1. to fail to notice, perceive, or consider: to overlook a misspelled word.

  2. to disregard or ignore indulgently, as faults or misconduct: Only a parent could overlook that kind of behavior.

  1. to look over, as from a higher position: a balcony that overlooks the ballroom.

  2. to afford a view over; look down or out upon: a hill overlooking the sea.

  3. to rise above: The Washington Monument overlooks the tidal basin.

  4. to excuse; pardon: a minor infraction we can overlook this time.

  5. to look over in inspection, examination, or perusal: They allowed us to overlook the proposed contract.

  6. to look after, oversee, or supervise: She has to overlook a large number of employees.

  7. Archaic. to look upon with the evil eye; bewitch.

noun
  1. terrain, as on a cliff, that affords an attractive vista or a good view: Miles of landscape could be seen from the overlook.

Origin of overlook

1
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English; see origin at over-, look

synonym study For overlook

1. See slight.

Other words for overlook

Words that may be confused with overlook

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use overlook in a sentence

  • The chums did not have to go even as far as the brow of the hill overlooking the group of houses before mentioned.

  • Chapman turned up a hilly road and they came out on a ridge overlooking the fenced-in track.

  • Real happiness may lie in forgetting that love is selfish, and in overlooking the bitter in the sweet.

    Ancestors | Gertrude Atherton
  • There is a large military hospital, well appointed, and a club-house for whites, overlooking the picturesque harbour.

    The Philippine Islands | John Foreman
  • She then went to live with her son-in-law in a magnificent mansion overlooking the Esplanade des Invalides.

    Repertory Of The Comedie Humaine, Complete, A -- Z | Anatole Cerfberr and Jules Franois Christophe

British Dictionary definitions for overlook

overlook

verb(ˌəʊvəˈlʊk) (tr)
  1. to fail to notice or take into account

  2. to disregard deliberately or indulgently

  1. to look at or over from above: the garden is overlooked by the prison

  2. to afford a view of from above: the house overlooks the bay

  3. to rise above

  4. to look after

  5. to look at carefully

  6. to bewitch or cast the evil eye upon (someone)

noun(ˈəʊvəˌlʊk) US
  1. a high place affording a view

  2. an act of overlooking

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