look 1 /lʊk/ ●●● S1 W1 verb
1 SEE [intransitive] to turn your eyes towards something, so that you can see it
We sneaked out while Jessie’s mom wasn’t looking.
If you look carefully you can see that the painting represents a human figure.
Gina covered her eyes, afraid to look.
look at
‘It’s time we left, ’ Ian said, looking at his watch.
The men all turned to look at her as she entered the room.
look away/over/down etc
Dad looked up from his paper and smiled.
‘We can’t go out in this weather, ’ said Bob, looking out of the window.
1- not in a room, building or container but on or to the outside of it
I'm seeing a patient—please wait outside.
I stood outside in the corridor, looking through the window.
The house is painted green outside.
2- not inside a building
It's warm enough to eat outside.
Go outside and see if it's raining.
The heat hits you as soon as you step outside.
A man was facing the door, and he was turning his eyes towards the wide open space before him so that he could see it.
Would you say "He looked outside"?
Why some people (non-native English teachers or European people who know English) says this sentence is wrong. They said I have to say "He looked through the door" instead of "He looked outside".
But Google book showed a lot of "He looked outside" phrase in many books.
So, what would native English people say?