look out for
Idioms-
See to the welfare of, as in Mary was assigned to look out for the youngsters on the playground . Similar to look after , this expression appears in such terms as look out for number one , meaning “see to one's own best interests,” as in Looking out for number one is Barbara's first priority . Versions of this expression, such as take care of number one , date from 1700.
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Be careful of or watchful for something or someone, as in Look out for broken glass on the floor , or Look out for Mary—she'll be coming any minute . [Second half of 1600s] Also see look out .
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“We have to look out for each other.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2026
Dehghani advises that parents look out for shifts in the boundary between themselves and the group that they’re beginning to align with.
From Los Angeles Times • May 23, 2026
Elsewhere, what used to be roaming bands of Hadzabe men now work as village forest guards, tasked with patrolling vast scrub forests and acacia bushlands to look out for poachers, land grabbers and illegal loggers.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 9, 2026
What should we look out for through the day as the results start to come in?
From BBC • May 7, 2026
I only knew at this moment, my father forgave me for not having done what I was supposed to do: look out for my sisters.
From "Gone Crazy in Alabama" by Rita Williams-Garcia
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
