Look over means to read through and quickly check something (a document, a piece of work) or to inspect something (a flat, a car) before making a decision. People use it when they need to make sure quickly that everything is fine, without a detailed analysis: look over a report before the meeting.
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look over + essay/report/contract; look it/them over; look over + a flat/car (before buying)
- Could you look over my essay and tell me if the argument is clear?
- We looked over three flats before choosing the one near the station.
- I'll look it over tonight and send you my comments tomorrow.
What changed
First versionCould you overlook my cover letter before I send it?
RevisionCould you look over my cover letter before I send it?
Overlook seems to contain the same words, just in a different order, so it is easy to use it by mistake. But overlook means to fail to notice something, or to have a view of a place: The hotel overlooks the sea. When you ask someone to check a letter, use look over, with the particle after the verb.
Look over is a quick check that everything is fine: I looked over my notes on the bus. Go over means working through something in detail, often with someone else or to revise: The teacher went over the test answers with us. A pronoun goes in the middle: look it over.
Your turn
Before you sign, ask a lawyer to ___ the agreement and check it for anything unusual.
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look over — The lawyer has to read the agreement and find anything unusual, so look over is needed. Overlook would mean the opposite: to miss something, to fail to notice it.
Ask a colleague or a teacher to check your work. Name the document and say by when you need an answer.
Could you look over my project proposal by Thursday morning? I need to submit it at noon.
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