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

The website, created by Tax Foundation senior fellow Jared Walczak, lets users look up the estimated tax burden for NFL players, plus it shows how transferring to a different team would change the numbers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

You can use the Cusip numbers to look up the bonds on your own for further research.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026

It still feels a little surreal, Mitch said, to see his younger brother’s face on giant posters, or to look up into the SoFi Stadium stands and see a sea of No. 10 Herbert jerseys.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026

The discourse around these celebrities shouldn’t center, for instance, on whatever message their body image might be sending to young people who look up to them.

From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2026

“How do I…I’m trying to look up some information. On the computer. On the internet.”

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy