looks
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
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)
OO sometimes makes a shorter sound, like in 'book' and 'good'.
The vowel team 'oo' sometimes makes the shorter /ʊ/ sound. This is less common than the long /uː/ sound. Words with short OO need to be learned individually.
Tip
Look in a book — short OO!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Letter 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)
Adding -S makes a word plural (more than one). After unvoiced sounds, -S says /s/, like 'cats'.
The plural -s says /s/ after unvoiced consonants (p, t, k, f, th). Like -ed, the pronunciation depends on the final sound of the base word.
Examples
What is SnapPhonics?
A phonics reference for teachers, parents and learners. Every English word, broken into the sounds that make it — with audio, syllables, and the rule behind each spelling.
Save words to study lists, build flashcard decks, and scan your own worksheets and books.