Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word onlooker. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word onlooker, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say onlooker in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word onlooker you have here. The definition of the word onlooker will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofonlooker, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
A spectator; someone looks on or watches, without becoming involved or participating.
I wasn’t involved in the fight; I was only an onlooker.
1945 May and June, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 152:
When the right-away was given, Driver Gibson would give a sonorous blast on Cardean's deep-toned hooter, and amid a flurry of swirling steam the train would move majestically out, with nearly half the city of Carlisle—or so it would appear—as onlookers on the platform.
1945 September and October, C. Hamilton Ellis, “Royal Trains—V”, in Railway Magazine, page 249:
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.