look up
Britishverb
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(tr) to discover (something required to be known) by resorting to a work of reference, such as a dictionary
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(intr) to increase, as in quality or value
things are looking up
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to have respect (for)
I've always wanted a girlfriend I could look up to
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(tr) to visit or make contact with (a person)
I'll look you up when I'm in town
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Search for in a book or other source, as in I told her to look up the word in the dictionary . [Late 1600s]
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Call on or visit, as in I'm going to look up my friend in Chicago . [Mid-1800s]
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Become better, improve, as in Business is finally looking up . [c. 1800]
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look up to . Admire, respect, as in The students really looked up to Mr. Jones . [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.
In this case, I was writing the song in my room and looking for a generic name, and I looked up and said, ‘Oh yeah, Wendy.’
From Salon
He looked up at me, his eyes as dark as the fading light outside the window.
From Literature
She looked up, her eyes widening when she saw the dog.
From Literature
No equipment is necessary to watch the color-changing display; just look up and to the southwest.
From Los Angeles Times
And even though the hall was filled with students, when he looked up, he looked right at me.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.