looks
PronouncedLUUKS
nounThe way someone's face appears or what their expression shows.
verbTo turn your eyes towards something to see it.
verbTo seem or appear in a certain way.
nounSomeone's physical appearance or how attractive they are.
verbTo try hard to find something.
nounAn act of turning your eyes towards something.
Syllables
1 syllable
Letters
Phonics breakdown
Phonics Rule: Letter L
Sound“l”·/l/
The letter L makes the /l/ sound, like in 'lamp', 'leg', and 'lip'. The tongue tip touches behind the upper teeth.
L is a voiced lateral approximant — the tongue tip touches the ridge behind the upper teeth while air flows around the sides. Double L (ll) makes the same /l/ sound.
Tip
L is for lamp — light it up with /l/!
Examples
Phonics Rule: OO (Short Sound)
Sound“oo (as in book)”·/ʊ/
OO sometimes makes a shorter sound, like in 'book' and 'good'.
The vowel team OO has two sounds. This is the shorter one, heard in 'book', 'look' and 'good' — not the long one in 'moon' and 'food'. Words with short OO need to be learned individually.
Tip
Look in a book — short OO!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Letter K
Sound“k”·/k/
The letter K makes the /k/ sound, like in 'kite', 'kit', and 'king'.
K always makes the /k/ sound. It is used before E, I, and Y where C would make an /s/ sound instead. K is silent before N at the start of a word (knife, know).
Tip
K is for kite — and kite starts with /k/!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Plural -S (/s/ sound)
Sound“s”·/s/
After a quiet sound like p, t, k or f, the plural ending says /s/ — like 'cats' and 'cakes'.
Say 'ssss' and then 'zzzz' with a finger on your throat — only 'zzzz' buzzes. When the word already ends in a quiet (unvoiced) sound like p, t, k or f, the plural ending stays quiet too and says /s/. This happens whether the word is spelled -s (cats) or -es (cakes, notes), because in cakes the e is silent and only the s is sounded.
Examples
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