look after

British

verb

to take care of; be responsible for

she looked after the child while I was out
to follow with the eyes

he looked after the girl thoughtfully

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

look after Idioms

Also, look out for; see after. Take care of, attend to the safety or well-being of, as in Please look after your little brother, or We left Jane to look out for the children, or Please see after the luggage. The first expression dates from the second half of the 1300s, the second from the mid-1900s, and the third from the 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.

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look after

With no one left to protect her, she’s learning to look after herself and those she cares about.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

"It doesn't annoy me. I get that they do need to get what they can because it's a short career and they have to look after themselves."

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

Think about pets: You can say who you would like to look after them after you die.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

How can she set up a rock-solid estate plan with a trustee to look after her grandson’s financial well-being?

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 4, 2026

He smacks his lips, stares at me, and adds, “I also look after those who don’t.”

From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

look after

verb

Example Sentences

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