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Synonyms

on the lookout

Idioms  

  1. Also, on the watch. Vigilant, alert, as in Be on the lookout for the twins—they're somewhere on this playground, or He was on the watch for her arrival. Both phrases were originally used with upon. Upon the lookout was originally nautical usage, meaning “on duty being watchful” (as for another ship, rocks, or land); it appeared in the mid-1700s, and on replaced upon about a century later. Upon the watch was first recorded in Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (1719), and on the watch in Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility (1797).

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.

Last quarter, the Gemini app had over 750 million monthly active users, and investors will be on the lookout for more signs of increased adoption in the beginning of 2026.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 28, 2026

Be on the lookout for a giant shovel.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

They will also be on the lookout for possible flashes of light caused by meteorites crashing into the surface of the Moon.

From Barron's • Apr. 5, 2026

Despite the misgivings of the scientific community, longevity enthusiasts like Scott and Chitwood are always on the lookout for the next therapy to try.

From Slate • Mar. 30, 2026

“No,” he acquiesced: “I heard it had happened very lately. I was rather on the lookout for good fortune then.”

From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens

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.