LOOKOUT

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does lookout mean? 

• LOOKOUT (noun)
  The noun LOOKOUT has 4 senses:

1. a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event

2. an elevated post affording a wide view

3. a structure commanding a wide view of its surroundings

4. the act of looking out

  Familiarity information: LOOKOUT used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• LOOKOUT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

lookout; lookout man; picket; scout; sentinel; sentry; spotter; watch

Hypernyms ("lookout" is a kind of...):

security guard; watcher; watchman (a guard who keeps watch)

Derivation:

look out (be vigilant, be on the lookout or be careful)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An elevated post affording a wide view

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Synonyms:

lookout; observation post

Hypernyms ("lookout" is a kind of...):

post; station (the position where someone (as a guard or sentry) stands or is assigned to stand)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "lookout"):

meteorological observation post; weather station (one of a network of observation posts where meteorological data is recorded)

Derivation:

look out (be vigilant, be on the lookout or be careful)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A structure commanding a wide view of its surroundings

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

lookout; lookout station; observation tower; observatory

Hypernyms ("lookout" is a kind of...):

construction; structure (a thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many parts)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "lookout"):

observation dome (lookout consisting of a dome-shaped observatory)

widow's walk (a lookout atop a coastal house)

Derivation:

look out (be vigilant, be on the lookout or be careful)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The act of looking out

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

lookout; outlook

Hypernyms ("lookout" is a kind of...):

look; looking; looking at (the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually)

Derivation:

look out (be vigilant, be on the lookout or be careful)

 Context examples 

He turned and spoke to us, Doctor's watch on the lookout.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

We shall be on the lookout for you, and shall let you in.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

He wants to be sure that she is on the lookout.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

A short distance away lookouts were set, their task being to watch the lighted ends of the bridge.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Always he was on the lookout for the trail of the gods where it might leave the river and proceed inland.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

I would suggest that you return to Norfolk, that you keep a keen lookout, and that you take an exact copy of any fresh dancing men which may appear.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

You make the dealer with blood little bit warm in face. (I was delighted.) The lookout, you make him lean forward in his chair.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

At any rate, it was there, and I was keenly on the lookout for any chance to pass the forbidden door.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

In short,” said Mr. Micawber, with the old genteel air, “the probability is, all will be found so exciting, alow and aloft, that when the lookout, stationed in the main-top, cries Land-oh! we shall be very considerably astonished!”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

He was able to introduce some improvement occasionally, though by no means to the extent he wished; he absolutely would not walk away from them; and at any crossing or any crowd, when Mr. Price was only calling out, Come, girls; come, Fan; come, Sue, take care of yourselves; keep a sharp lookout! he would give them his particular attendance.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)