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

“I would suggest to you that when you look up here, you’re not looking at us,” said Canadian Space Agency astronaut and Artemis II mission specialist astronaut Jeremy Hansen, back in Houston Saturday.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026

Asked about which dinosaurs he’d hope to see in the movie, Choudhury lists off several that I have to look up, rusty from my years away from textbooks.

From Salon • Apr. 12, 2026

At trying times like these, many people still look up for hope, and on Monday at least they got some.

From Barron's • Apr. 6, 2026

He says things will look up for him when he graduates and gets a job in his field.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026

We step out of the building, and I look up and see Mamá standing on the balcony waving a handkerchief to me.

From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar