look up

British  

verb

1. (tr) to discover (something required to be known) by resorting to a work of reference, such as a dictionary

2. (intr) to increase, as in quality or value

   things are looking up

3. to have respect (for)

   I've always wanted a girlfriend I could look up to

4. (tr) to visit or make contact with (a person)

   I'll look you up when I'm in town

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look up Idioms  

1. Search for in a book or other source, as in I told her to look up the word in the dictionary . [Late 1600s]

2. Call on or visit, as in I'm going to look up my friend in Chicago . [Mid-1800s]

3. Become better, improve, as in Business is finally looking up . [c. 1800]

4. look up to . Admire, respect, as in The students really looked up to Mr. Jones . [Early 1700s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

look up

However, if Henderson and Caicedo can help eliminate the defensive lapses, Chelsea can begin to look up the table, with Pedro, Rogers and Palmer already helping to make them the Premier League's top scorers.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

In another case, the audit found that a high-ranking law enforcement officer misused confidential databases to look up family members and other employees without legitimate business purposes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

The Department of Homeland Security has been running an online detainee locator since 2010 where anyone can look up a person being held in immigration detention.

From Slate ● Sep. 24, 2026

An OpenAI spokesperson confirmed that the company this summer identified agent activity involving several Australian-government websites and services as its AI models attempted to look up answers during an evaluation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

I look up into the perfectly blue sky.

From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila

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