look after

present singular third person looks after · participle present looking after · participle past looked after · past looked after

1. transitiveTo follow with the eyes; to look in the direction of (someone or something departing).First known use 10th c.

   The marshes were just a long black horizontal line then, as I stopped to look after him; and the river was just another horizontal line, not nearly so broad nor yet so black; and the sky was just a row of long angry red lines and dense black lines intermixed.

   1860 December – 1861 August, Charles Dickens, chapter I, in Great Expectations […], volume I, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published October 1861, →OCLC, page 10

2. regionaltransitiveTo seek out, to look for.First known use 14th c.

   I have sent my intended husband to look after my lover […].

   1775, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The Duenna, II.4

   3 more examples

   My subject does not necessarily oblige me to look after this water, or point forth the place whereunto 'tis now retreated.

   1695, John Woodward, “(please specify the page)”, in An Essay toward a Natural History of the Earth: And Terrestrial Bodies, Especially Minerals: […], London: […] Ric[hard] Wilkin […], →OCLC

   If they are not married, they should be looking after a wife.

   1893, Oscar Wilde, A Woman of No Importance

   Sliding through the world: that is how, in a bygone age, they used to designate lives like his: looking after his interests, quietly prospering, attracting no attention.

   2005, J. M. Coetzee, “Three”, in Slow Man, New York: Viking, →ISBN, page 19

3. alsoreflexivetransitiveTo care for; to keep safe.First known use 14th c.

   He asked me to look after his daughter while he was away.

   2 more examples

   The station is clearly well looked after, making it a worthy gateway to the resort.

   2022 January 12, Paul Bigland, “Fab Four: the nation's finest stations”, in RAIL, number 948, page 27

   "And I thought: if muggins here, a 37-year-old government minister who can look after myself, feels that way, then we need to really think about how we're putting in place a level of protection for women.

   2022 April 6, “Network News: Booze ban continues as part of move to prioritise women's safety”, in RAIL, number 954, page 6

   Synonyms: take care of

4. transitiveTo have as one's business; to manage, be responsible for.First known use 16th c.

   Synonyms: keep

5. obsoletetransitiveTo expect, look forward to.First known use 14th–18th c.

   Mens hearts failing them for feare, and for looking after those things which are comming on the earth; For the powers of heauen shall be shaken.

   1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 21:26