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

Those expectations arrive as Wall Street remains on the lookout for signs of weakness among consumers, whose spending has held up even as gas prices have climbed this year amid persistent inflation.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 13, 2026

Not until I am able to test it more fully, so be on the lookout for that review in a few weeks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

County health officials urged people to be on the lookout for symptoms of heat stroke or heat exhaustion, such as dizziness, nausea, rapid heartbeat and confusion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

"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

Company owners seemed to be on the lookout for a chance to challenge and ultimately break the garment workers’ union.

From "Fannie Never Flinched" by Mary Cronk Farrell

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Related Words

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

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