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

The spoken introduction to “As You Lie There”—“I used to walk past your house / Every night I’d look up at your window”—is pure Shangri-Las.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 3, 2026

“In the movie version of it I look up to the sky and I’m like, ‘I hear you.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 1, 2026

Hanks said the cast related to the storyline because they had all "met that disinterest" of young people who "look down at their phone, look up, look down, look up".

From BBC • Jun. 1, 2026

They’ll get to walk the infield, put some grass in their pockets, look up into the stands, hang out in the dugout of the two-time defending world champions.

From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026

I look up detectives and email as many as I can.

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko