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

For the time being, vinyl records made from reclaimed materials are the best that companies like Swanson’s can do, though they’re are always on the lookout for other, viable options for improving their footprint.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026

In the future, she is hopeful for more projects like this one and says they are on the lookout for some more land.

From BBC • May 25, 2026

Investors are also on the lookout for any sign that Nvidia is making inroads in its plan to sell its second-most advanced chips in China.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 20, 2026

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

He was always, in the darkness of the dungeon, on the lookout for light, the smallest glimmer, the tiniest shimmer.

From "The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread" by Kate DiCamillo

Related Words

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