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

At the time, SuperSport were not on the lookout for cheating, despite the shenanigans of the first two Tests.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

Those expectations arrive as Wall Street remains on the lookout for signs of weakness among consumers, whose spending has held up even as gas prices have climbed this year amid persistent inflation.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 13, 2026

"Assuming the Fed leaves rates unchanged as expected, traders will be on the lookout for a potentially stronger description of inflation risks and/or possible wording to signal conditional tightening," said Matt Weller at City Index.

From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026

A prior warning by the Treasury Department directed banks to be on the lookout for employers that may be committing payroll fraud by employing undocumented immigrants.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

“No,” he acquiesced: “I heard it had happened very lately. I was rather on the lookout for good fortune then.”

From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens

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Related Words

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

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