Look over meaning
Look over means to check something quickly, to see if it is right. It can also mean to visit a place and look at it to decide about it.
look something over
look over · looked · looking
Can you look over my essay before I hand it in?
Look over meanings and examples
2 meanings, each with its own CEFR level. A level marked ~ is our estimate: Oxford and Cambridge give none for that meaning.
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1
Check something quickly, to see if it is right
look something over
- Can you look over my essay before I hand it in?
- I’ll look the contract over tonight.
- She looked over the report in ten minutes.
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2
Visit a place and look at it to decide about it
look something over
- We looked over the house before we made an offer.
- They looked the school over last week.
- He looked over the old hotel with an agent.
Café orders
New friends
At the airport
Slova
Use look over in real conversations
- Learn new words with picture cards
- Talk with Felix, an AI tutor, about the things you love
- Short lessons at your level, a few minutes a day
Is look over separable?
Look over is separable. You can say look over the report or look the report over. With a pronoun, it goes in the middle: look it over, not look over it.
Look over a wall or a person’s shoulder is the ordinary verb look plus over, so the object follows over: She looked over the fence. Look over your shoulder is also that kind of use.
Verb tenses for look over
| Present | I look over · she looks over |
|---|---|
| Past | looked over |
| Present perfect | have looked over |
| -ing form | looking over |
Common mistakes with look over
What learners often say, and what to say instead.
Wrong: Please look over it.
Right: Please look it over.
Pronouns go between look and over.
Wrong: Can you look over of my essay?
Right: Can you look over my essay?
No of after over.
Wrong: Please look at over my essay.
Right: Please look over my essay.
Say look over, with nothing in between.
Synonyms and opposites of look over
Words close to it, and words that mean the opposite.
Similar
- checksee if something is right
- look throughread something quickly
- go overcheck something carefully, point by point
Opposite
- missnot notice something
- ignorepay no attention
Look over quiz
Three quick questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why.
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1Could you ___ my CV before I send it?
Look over means check quickly.
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2Choose the right sentence.
A pronoun goes in the middle.
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3“We looked over the flat.” What did we do?
Look over a place means inspect it.
More phrasal verbs with look
All phrasal verbs with look, by level, with an exercise
13 phrasal verbs start with look. Test yourself on all of them in a few minutes.
- look forA1try to find someone or something
- look afterA2take care of someone or something and keep them safe and well
- look upA2find information in a dictionary, a book or online
- look forward toB1feel happy about something that is going to happen
- look outB1be careful, because something bad may happen
- look atA1turn your eyes towards someone or something
- look aroundB1walk around a place and look at the things in it
- look intoB2examine the facts about a problem to find out the cause
- look backB2think about something that happened in the past
- look down onB2think that you are better than someone
- look up toB2admire and respect someone
- look throughB2read or check something quickly, page by page
Look over FAQ
Questions people ask about look over.
What does look over mean?
It means check something quickly, such as a document, or visit a place and look at it before you decide.
What is the difference between look over and look through?
They are close. Look over is a quick check to see if it is right. Look through is reading something piece by piece, or searching in a bag or a box.
Is look over formal?
No, it is common in everyday work English: Can you look this over?
Use look over in real conversations
In Slova you learn new words with picture cards, then use them when you talk about the things you love. A few minutes a day, at your level.