look on
B1 neutral inseparable intransitive
In simple words
You just watch something but don't do anything about it.
Literal meaning: To keep your gaze directed onward or onto something.
Meanings
1 B1 neutral
To watch an event or activity as a spectator, without joining in.
"Hundreds of people looked on as the street performers juggled fire."
"The world looked on as the Berlin Wall came down in 1989."
— Widely used in news reporting, e.g. BBC News archives, November 1989
Grammar: inseparable
2 B1
idiomatic
neutral
To watch something happen without intervening, often when intervention might be expected.
"She could only look on helplessly as the car rolled into the ditch."
"They looked on in horror as the building collapsed."
— Common journalistic phrasing; used in numerous news reports, e.g. The Guardian
Grammar: inseparable
Usage notes
Often carries a slightly negative tone, suggesting the watcher could or should have acted. Common in both British and American English.
Commonly used with
crowd bystanders helplessly horror dismay spectators
Forms
Base
look on
I/you/we/they
3rd person
looks on
he/she/it
Past simple
looked on
yesterday
Past participle
looked on
have + pp
-ing form
looking on
continuous
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Synonyms
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