looked

Looked is the simple past tense and past participle form of the English verb look. Look itself has several related senses, including directing one’s gaze toward something, appearing or seeming in a certain way, and directing attention or effort toward a task or goal. As a result, looked can describe a literal act of looking (looked at the painting) or a subjective impression (the weather looked inviting; she looked tired).

Grammatically, looked is a regular verb: the base form is look, the present participle is looking, the past tense and past participle are looked. It can take a direct object (look at something) or be used intransitively (she looked away). The past participle is used in perfect tenses (they have looked for hours) and in passive constructions (the message was looked over by the editor). It can also function as a participial adjective in reduced clauses (the looked man stood quietly).

Common phrasal verbs with look include look for (search), look after (take care of), look into (investigate or examine), look over (review), look up (increase in search or improvement, or consult). These often carry a sense of directed effort or evaluation.

In usage, look often emphasizes intention or appearance rather than mere perception, especially when paired with adjectives or in phrases like look good, look tired, or look as if. Etymology traces look to Old English lōcian, with cognates in other Germanic languages, and it has been in continuous use since the early medieval period.