Meanings
present singular third person looks the part · participle present looking the part · participle past looked the part · past looked the part
- idiomaticTo appear suitable for a particular kind of work, position or role.
If you want to be a successful business person, you have to look the part.
3 more examples
We were going to cast him in our new movie but unfortunately he didn't look the part.
Turner looked assured, picking out his men at the lineouts, while Redpath was seeing plenty of the ball and also looked the part as the Scots probed for opening.
2021 February 6, Graham Bean, “Scotland beat England at Twickenham for the first time in 38 years”, in The Scotsman, archived from the original on 16 Apr 2023Trump “cast” key roles in his administration based on candidates’ ability to “look the part.”
2025 March 6, Megan Garber, “Trump Is Breaking the Fourth Wall”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 08 Mar 2025
Translations
Chinese Cantonese 似模似樣 /似模似样, 有型有格
- 似模似樣 /似模似样 (ci⁵ mou⁴ ci⁵ joeng⁶)appear suitable for a particular kind of work
- 有型有格appear suitable for a particular kind of work
- 入型入格appear suitable for a particular kind of work
Chinese Mandarin 儀表得體 /仪表得体
- 儀表得體 /仪表得体 (yíbiǎo détǐ)appear suitable for a particular kind of work
Finnish vaikuttaa sopivalta
- vaikuttaa sopivaltaappear suitable for a particular kind of work
French avoir la tête de l'emploi, avoir le physique de l'emploi
- avoir la tête de l'emploiappear suitable for a particular kind of work
- avoir le physique de l'emploiappear suitable for a particular kind of work
- avoir la gueule de l'emploiappear suitable for a particular kind of work
German entsprechend aussehen, angemessen aussehen
- entsprechend aussehenappear suitable for a particular kind of work
- angemessen aussehenappear suitable for a particular kind of work
- passend erscheinenappear suitable for a particular kind of work
- so aussehenappear suitable for a particular kind of work
Italian avere il physique du rôle
- avere il physique du rôleappear suitable for a particular kind of work
Polish odpowiednio wyglądać
- odpowiednio wyglądaćappear suitable for a particular kind of work
Portuguese parecer estar à altura
- parecer estar à alturaappear suitable for a particular kind of work
Russian вы́глядеть соотве́тствующе
- вы́глядеть соотве́тствующе (výgljadetʹ sootvétstvujušče)appear suitable for a particular kind of work
Spanish parecer estar a la altura, aparentar estar a la altura
- parecer estar a la alturaappear suitable for a particular kind of work
- aparentar estar a la alturaappear suitable for a particular kind of work
Cite this entry
look the part. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/look%20the%20part
“look the part.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/look%20the%20part. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “look the part,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/look%20the%20part.
Source: look the part on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.