look through

phrasal verb

looked through; looking through; looks through
1
: to read or briefly examine some of the pages of (a book, magazine, etc.)
She was looking through a magazine as she waited in the doctor's office.
2
: to look at the different parts of (a collection or group of things)
I looked through all his letters.
3
: to place one's eyes so as to see through (something)
look through a telescope
4
: to pretend not to see or recognize (someone) in a rude or unfriendly way
We used to be best friends but when she passed me on the street yesterday she looked (right/straight) through me without even saying hello!

Examples of look through in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In the background, Larocca and Taylor can be seen looking through the trees and bushes. Natalia Senanayake, People.com, 21 Apr. 2025 Yet most cardinals do not look through that lens, and nor did Francis. Austen Ivereigh, Time, 21 Apr. 2025 Our Ethicist columnist responds to a reader whose partner can’t stop looking through his phone. Justin Porter, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025 Just down a stairwell past the Tonight Show entrance at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, behind the wide-open golden doors of Rough Trade Below, a Sam Fender track buzzed from the speakers while Mark Ellinger, in town from Montreal to chaperone a high-school field trip, looked through a box of used vinyl. Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 11 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for look through

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Cite this Entry

“Look through.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/look%20through. Accessed 25 Apr. 2025.

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