look up
Britishverb
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(tr) to discover (something required to be known) by resorting to a work of reference, such as a dictionary
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(intr) to increase, as in quality or value
things are looking up
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to have respect (for)
I've always wanted a girlfriend I could look up to
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(tr) to visit or make contact with (a person)
I'll look you up when I'm in town
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Search for in a book or other source, as in I told her to look up the word in the dictionary . [Late 1600s]
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Call on or visit, as in I'm going to look up my friend in Chicago . [Mid-1800s]
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Become better, improve, as in Business is finally looking up . [c. 1800]
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look up to . Admire, respect, as in The students really looked up to Mr. Jones . [Early 1700s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"I felt an explosion in the air and, when I looked up, the plane was flying close to the house on my plot," Noé Mota said.
From BBC
“He’s in a galaxy of his own as somebody that I look up to, respect and who basically shaped the game for me.”
From Los Angeles Times
“And also inspiring to kids who can look up and see heroes that look like them from this community.”
From Los Angeles Times
Alan Smith was, you know, the one I looked up to.
From BBC
Then, somewhere between courses, he looked up and said, “You remind me of my mother.”
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.