look up

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

Idioms and Phrases

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

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

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

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

Example Sentences

As he scored his first touchdown as a Trojan, Jordan looked up into the stands and saw his family.

From Los Angeles Times

"Junk food was something that we looked up to because my granny didn't always have money, so it was a token of celebration."

From BBC

Members of the judiciary, prosecutors and judges themselves are "all the time looking up for instructions from above", she says.

From BBC

“We all look up to her so much. She’s very family-oriented — she’d never miss a party. But when she’s at Palace, she runs circles around us all. She doesn’t stop. That’s her element.”

From Los Angeles Times

On my first morning, I looked up at a coffee shop menu and saw a sticker of a Canadian flag pasted over my habitual order, an Americano.

From Los Angeles Times