look on phrasal verb (see also look)

1. to watch something happening, without being involved in it or trying to stop it ⇒ onlooker:
Only one man tried to help us, the rest just looked on in silence.

2. look on somebody/something (also look upon somebody/something) to consider someone or something in a particular way, or as a particular thing
look on as
I look on him as a good friend.
look on with
Strangers to the village are looked upon with a mixture of fear and suspicion.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

look on
be a spectator
There were many people who gathered to look on after the car accident.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

look on
v.
1. To regard; consider; think of.
The stuff had always been looked on as a worthless factory waste.
Until the day Bob made the touchdown, the other boys had looked upon him as rather a sissy.
2. To be an observer; watch without taking part.
Fred had never been able to do more than look on at athletic sports.
The children played in the park while their mother looked on.
Compare: SIT IN.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲