Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use onlooker in a sentence

15 example sentences · noun

Onlooker means one who looks on or watches, without becoming involved or participating; an observer, a spectator. Example: “I wasn’t involved in the fight; I was only an onlooker.”

Examples of onlooker by meaning

nounOne who looks on or watches, without becoming involved or participating; an observer, a spectator.

  • I wasn’t involved in the fight; I was only an onlooker.
  • As a result, while the train was being shunted at Bombay, the buffers became locked, producing a situation most intriguing for the onlookers, but exasperating for the exalted passengers and the unhappy railway authorities.1945 September–October, C[uthbert] Hamilton Ellis, “Royal Trains—V”, in The Railway Magazine, London: Tothill Press, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 249

More sentences with onlooker

  • Onlookers were impressed by the rich and colorful heraldry.From the entry heraldry
  • I’ve dedicated myself to unpacking my own story, mostly out of sight of semicurious onlookers and algorithms.2022 October 11, Stephanie Eisler Vance, “When Facebook Actually Broke My Brain”, in The New York Times. From the entry semicurious
  • Jolene pulled off Kip's pants, exposing his quivering pink member to the lesbionic onlookers.2003, Bett Williams, The Wrestling Party, Alyson Publishing, published 2003, page 141. From the entry lesbionic
  • Wholesale buyers and curious onlookers pack Tokyo's Tsukiji Fish Market at the break of day.2001 August 6, Lisa Takeuchi Cullen, “Wailing Over Whales”, in Time. From the entry break of day
  • What he saw in the scene before his eyes was not apparent to the casual onlooker.1922 November, A.E. Dingle, “A Bride from the Sea: A Complete Novelette—The Strange Cruise of the Seafarer and Her Crew of a Sailor, a…. From the entry bovinely
  • "I'm a Trumpocrat," Blagojevich said to cheers from onlookers.2020 February 20, Sophie Sherry, Stacy St. Clair, “Calling himself a ‘Trumpocrat,’ an unbowed Blagojevich thanks the president”, in…. From the entry Trumpocrat
  • She explains that "Thaxter invites the onlooker to relinquish self-consciousness, to view the familiar sea and islands 'islandly,' as she does.2004, Norma H. Mandel, Beyond the Garden Gate. From the entry islandly
  • She greeted the bikini-clad and board-shorted onlookers politely between poses for photographs that apparently were destined for a weekly magazine.1988 January 6, Wendy Tuohy, “Still a place to be seen and overheard”, in The Age, number 41,374, page 8. From the entry board-shorted
  • What did I tell you! said an onlooker.1955, William Gaddis, The Recognitions: A novel, page 618. From the entry bathysiderodromophobia
  • In addition, the perception that onlookers are willing to sell out possessors counteracts the inference that possessors enjoy high status among their peers.1998, Dan M. Kahan, Tracey L. Meares, “Law and (Norms of) Order in the Inner City)”, in Law and Society, number 32, page 825. From the entry possessor
  • Every spring, the quad on the University of Washington (UW) campus transforms from a peaceful green space to a bustling habitat for hundreds of shuttering cameras, families, and onlookers.2014, Walker Orenstein, for Norwest Asian Weekly, Cherry trees from Japan to grace UW campus. From the entry quad
  • With a buzz-saw groan that vibrates in the pits of onlookers’ stomachs, the machine grinds the washed apples, then spews the applesaucey pulp through a large hose.1978 October 17, Marie McCullough, “At The Cider Mill, they put the squeeze on October”, in The Evening Press, Binghamton, N.Y., page 1-B. From the entry applesaucey
  • The march through the residential section of Pond street and Farragut avenue contained crowded intersections of onlookers with the middle of the blocks having porchfuls of interested persons.1936 April 13, “Scouts’ Birthday Celebration Here a Big Success; Given a Royal Welcome by the Residents: […]”, in Serrill D. Detlefson…. From the entry porchful

Meaning of onlooker

  1. noun One who looks on or watches, without becoming involved or participating; an observer, a spectator.

Full definition of onlooker

Questions about onlooker in a sentence

How do you use onlooker in a sentence?
Onlooker is used as a noun. For example: “I wasn’t involved in the fight; I was only an onlooker.”
What is a short sentence with onlooker?
“What did I tell you! said an onlooker.”
What does onlooker mean?
Onlooker means one who looks on or watches, without becoming involved or participating; an observer, a spectator.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: onlooker (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use onlooker in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/onlooker. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.