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looking

/ˈlʊkɪŋ/
verbnoun

LOOKING meaning: a glance or the act of looking; the word scores 12 Scrabble points and has no anagrams.

NWL Collins ENABLE

Verb 1 meaning

  1. as the last part of compound adjectives: relating to or having the appearance of.

    “dorky-looking”

Noun 1 meaning

  1. The act of one who looks; a glance.

Definitions: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA) via Kaikki/Wiktextract

Where it comes from

Etymology

From Middle English lokynge, from earlier lokinde, lokende, from Old English lōciende, present participle of Old English lōcian (“to look”), equivalent to look + -ing.

An everyday word with an unexpectedly narrow anagram profile, LOOKING uses seven tiles but has no anagrams. Its score is driven by K, worth five points, while the other letters contribute one or two each. Collins, NWL2023, and ENABLE include the word, so it is playable in those lists.

LOOKING at a glance

  • LOOKING is seven letters long and scores 12 points before board bonuses.
  • No anagrams use the same seven letters.
  • The word has 15 one-letter neighbours, including COOKING, BOOKING, and LOCKING.
  • Its definition covers a glance and an appearance-related use in compound adjectives.

LOOKING meaning and its Scrabble score

LOOKING is a noun for the act of looking or a glance. The definition also notes its use as the last part of compound adjectives meaning “relating to” or “having the appearance of.” That second sense is more technical than the everyday verb form, so context matters when you read it.

The seven tiles add up to 12 points: K is worth five, G is worth two, and L, both Os, I, and N are worth one apiece. That makes K the key tile in the score. On an empty board, keep it in mind when choosing where to place the word; a premium letter square changes the total.

Which words differ from LOOKING by one letter?

The 15 one-letter neighbours include COOKING, BOOKING, LOCKING, LOOTING, and HOOKING. The first three keep the “ooking” sequence and change the opening letter; LOOTING changes a letter inside the word instead. These are related by spelling, not by meaning.

LOOKING has no anagrams, but it still has these close letter neighbours: rearranging its tiles does not produce another anagram, while changing one tile does produce words such as COOKING. That distinction matters when a puzzle asks for an anagram rather than a near-match.

For the LOOKING meaning and its word-family clues, compare those neighbours with the seven-letter lists for words beginning with L or ending in G. The full seven-letter hub gives you a broader set when the clue is about length rather than a specific letter.

Rhymes with looking

All rhymes

One letter away

Change one letter, keep the rest
  • COOKING14
  • BOOKING14
  • LOCKING14
  • LOOTING8
  • HOOKING15
  • LOOMING10
  • LOOSING8
  • LOOPING10
  • SOOKING12
  • ROOKING12
  • JOOKING19
  • DOOKING13
  • POOKING14
  • KOOKING16
  • LOONING8

Questions people ask

Is LOOKING a valid Scrabble word?
Yes, LOOKING is accepted in Collins, NWL2023, and ENABLE. It is a seven-letter word with a base score of 12 points. Your game’s chosen dictionary determines which word list applies, so check that list if you are playing under a different set of rules.
How many points is LOOKING worth in Scrabble?
LOOKING scores 12 points before board bonuses. Its K contributes five points and G contributes two; L, O, O, I, and N contribute one point each. A premium letter square can raise the score by multiplying a tile’s value.
Can you make an anagram of LOOKING?
No anagrams are listed for LOOKING. The word does have 15 one-letter neighbours, including COOKING and BOOKING, but those change one tile rather than rearranging the same letters. Treat them as near-matches, not anagrams.

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