look up

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

1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see look, up.

   We stayed up late to look up at the stars.

2. idiomaticintransitiveTo have better prospects.

   Things started looking up after Jim moved back in with his parents.

   Synonyms: get better, improve, ameliorate, aprimorate (non-native speakers’ English (chiefly Portuguese)), amend, batten, better, enhance

3. idiomatictransitiveTo obtain, or seek to obtain, information about something.

   "Why do you know about transgender stuff? Did you look it up because of me?" "Oh no. I find wanting to change forms totally normal. It never would've occurred to me."

   2014 July 16, Dan Shive, El Goonish Shive (webcomic), Comic for Wednesday, Jul 16, 2014

   1 more example

   The United States Supreme Court, for example, has decided that a book or a film can be banned if it arouses the prurient interests of the average person. Now prurient—I looked that up—it means having itching morbid or lewd and lascivious desires.

   1967 September 28, Tom Lehrer, 00:25:50 from the start, in Tom Lehrer: Live In Copenhagen (television production), via DR2

   1. idiomatictransitiveTo obtain information about something from a reference book.

      I didn't know what a mitochondrion was until I looked it up in a dictionary.

      Synonyms: consult

   2. idiomatictransitiveTo enter a query into a database or search engine.

      If you look up a bunch of random characters, there will probably be no results.

      Synonyms: search

4. idiomatictransitiveTo reconnect or meet with someone that one used to know.

   Look me up next time you’re in town—if you can bring me some new ideas.

   1914, Rupert Hughes, Clipped Wings

   Synonyms: track down