lookup

1 of 2

noun

look·​up ˈlu̇k-ˌəp 

variants or look-up

: an act, process, or instance of looking something up (as in a reference work or listing)

dictionary lookups

a price look-up

look up

2 of 2

verb

looked up; looking up; looks up

intransitive verb

1

: to cheer up

look up—things are not all bad

2

: to improve in prospects or conditions

business is looking up

transitive verb

1

: to search for in or as if in a reference work

look up an address

2

: to seek out especially for a brief visit

look me up when you're here

Synonyms

Verb

• cast about (for)
• cast around (for)
• chase (down)
• forage (for)
• hunt
• pursue
• quest
• search (for or out)
• seek
• shop (for)

Examples of lookup in a Sentence

Verb

be sure to look me up if you're ever in town

by the next morning, the skies had begun to clear and we were looking up

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

In the meantime, drivers can also confirm if their specific vehicle is included in this recall and find more information using the NHTSA site and/or Kia’s recall lookup platform. —Wyatte Grantham-Philips, Chicago Tribune, 7 June 2024

Drivers concerned that their vehicle may be affected can check its safety by typing in their VIN using Nissan's and Infiniti's recall lookup tool. —Kira Caspers, The Arizona Republic, 29 May 2024

Verb

Integrating Joule horizontally will allow a manager to look up an employee’s compensation, which would be found in a HR application; but then, if the next question is about if there’s room in the budget to give this employee a raise, that’s a financial question. —John Kell, Fortune, 6 June 2024

However, things are looking up, at least in the realm of early education. —Jennah Pendleton, Sacramento Bee, 5 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1948, in the meaning defined above

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Kids Definition

lookup

1 of 2 noun

look·​up ˈlu̇k-ˌəp 

: the process or an instance of looking something up

especially : the process of matching by computer the words of a text with material stored in memory

look up

2 of 2 verb

: to seek for or out

look up a word in the dictionary

look up a friend