lookup

or look-up

[ look-uhp ]

/ ˈlʊkˌʌp /

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noun

an act or instance of looking something up, as information in a reference book or an online database.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of lookup

1945–50 for an earlier sense; noun use of verb phrase look up

Words nearby lookup

look the other way, look-through, look through rose-colored glasses, look to, look to one's laurels, lookup, look up and down, look up to, look who's talking, looky, loom

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use lookup in a sentence

Visual Lookup works on photos you’ve already taken and stored on your phone or tablet, and can identify items including art, landmarks, flowers, books, and pet breeds.
Use your phone to identify plants, landmarks, and other mysterious objects|David Nield|September 28, 2021|Popular-Science
Visual Lookup is a tool that analyzes your photos and uses Siri Knowledge to gather information about the subject.
Here’s what’s coming in iOS 15: SharePlay, FaceTime, Focus modes, LiveText, and more|Billy Cadden|July 21, 2021|Popular-Science
Instead, turn to the specialized WhoIs lookup tool maintained by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.
This free tool can reveal who is behind any internet domain|John Kennedy|March 18, 2021|Popular-Science
We first developed a lookup tool for the reporting team that could take any sentence as input and return the most-similar sentences from the database.
How We Found Pricey Provisions in New Jersey Police Contracts|by Agnes Chang, Jeff Kao and Agnel Philip, ProPublica, and Andrew Ford, Asbury Park Press|February 8, 2021|ProPublica

Please travel with safety in mind and lookup local travel restrictions and warnings where you’re headed before you plan a visit.
How Practicing Mindfulness With Your Partner Can Make You Closer|Charli Penn|October 1, 2020|Essence.com
F—d, the Clerk of the Arraigns, brought off Lookup when indicted for perjury.
The Gaming Table: Its Votaries and Victims|Andrew Steinmetz
Lookup, a notorious gambler, was struck down by apoplexy when playing at this game.
The Slang Dictionary|John Camden Hotten
Lookup, as well as Colonel Charteris,—of notorious memory in the annals of gaming and debauchery,—was from the north of the Tweed.
Facts and Speculations on the Origin and History of Playing Cards|William Andrew Chatto
The eye of which Lookup had lost the use appeared as perfect as the other, even to a near observer.
Facts and Speculations on the Origin and History of Playing Cards|William Andrew Chatto

British Dictionary definitions for lookup

look up

verb (adverb)

(tr) to discover (something required to be known) by resorting to a work of reference, such as a dictionary

(intr) to increase, as in quality or valuethings are looking up

(intr foll by to) to have respect (for)I've always wanted a girlfriend I could look up to

(tr) to visit or make contact with (a person)I'll look you up when I'm in town

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with lookup

look up

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]