Outlook means the way you view or think about what lies ahead. When someone has a positive outlook, they expect good things to happen and look forward to the future with hope. A person with a negative outlook expects problems and disappointments.

Your outlook shapes how you approach challenges. Two students facing a difficult math unit might have completely different outlooks: one sees it as an exciting puzzle to solve, while the other dreads it as an impossible obstacle. Their outlooks affect how hard they try and how much they learn.

The word also refers to what seems likely to happen. Weather forecasters talk about the outlook for the weekend: will it be sunny or rainy? Doctors discuss a patient's outlook, meaning their chances of getting better. A business might have a good outlook if customers are buying lots of products.

You'll also see outlook used for the view from a particular spot, like a scenic outlook on a mountain trail where you can see for miles. In this sense, it's the physical scene that stretches out before you, just as your mental outlook is how you see the future stretching ahead.