looking and looting differ by a single letter, buried far enough into the word to be easy to miss. looking means “the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually”. looting means “plundering during riots or in wartime”. looking is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/ˈlʊkɪŋ/
1.n.the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
“he went out to have a look”
2.n.the act of searching visually
3.adj.appearing to be as specified; usually used as combining forms
“left their clothes dirty looking”
/ˈlutɪŋ/
1.n.plundering during riots or in wartime
| looking | looting | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈlʊkɪŋ/ | /ˈlutɪŋ/ |
| Said | LUUK-ing | LOO-ting |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| Letters | 7 | 7 |
| Parts of speech | noun, adjective | noun |
| Senses | 3 | 1 |
| How common | Core | Familiar |
| Synonyms | look, looking at | robbery |
Full entry for looking · Full entry for looting · More comparisons