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).

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

on the lookout

"Assuming the Fed leaves rates unchanged as expected, traders will be on the lookout for a potentially stronger description of inflation risks and/or possible wording to signal conditional tightening," said Matt Weller at City Index.

From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026

A prior warning by the Treasury Department directed banks to be on the lookout for employers that may be committing payroll fraud by employing undocumented immigrants.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

Always on the lookout for new plays, I’ve compiled a list of works that I’ve read for award consideration or seen elsewhere in the last year that deserve Los Angeles productions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

The EU will also be on the lookout for circumvention, as well as any effort to reroute small parcels to the bloc via countries like Switzerland.

From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026

We cross the bridge lightly, avoiding the places where the boards have rotted through, on the lookout for men.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood

Related Words

• active
• bright
• careful
• intelligent
• observant
• perceptive
• sharp
• vigilant
• wary
• watchful
• wired
• wise