on the lookout

Idioms  

1. Also, on the watch. Vigilant, alert, as in Be on the lookout for the twins—they're somewhere on this playground, or He was on the watch for her arrival. Both phrases were originally used with upon. Upon the lookout was originally nautical usage, meaning “on duty being watchful” (as for another ship, rocks, or land); it appeared in the mid-1700s, and on replaced upon about a century later. Upon the watch was first recorded in Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (1719), and on the watch in Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility (1797).

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

on the lookout

The city was also on the lookout for executives who would also be supportive of the administration’s agenda.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

With ambitions of cornering the electric vehicle market, India is also on the lookout for critical minerals such as lithium -- another resource Australia has in abundance.

From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026

As a career documentary filmmaker, I’m always on the lookout for quirky Los Angeles stories.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026

But with Dodger Stadium, the marine layer angle jumped out at me because I’m always on the lookout for relatable ways to tell the climate change story.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026

If you had been on the lookout for possible patterns in the lists of words, there is no way you would have completed the task that quickly.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

Related Words

• active
• bright
• careful
• intelligent
• observant
• perceptive
• sharp
• vigilant
• wary
• watchful
• wired
• wise