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

“At this thing, they would literally look up at you and be like, ‘Oh my God, I love your hair.

From Slate ● Jun. 25, 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

“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

Gates ranked at the very top of a 2019 survey of public figures that people look up to—ahead of the Dalai Lama and Pope Francis.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026

I finish the croissant in three giant bites and look up hopefully.

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