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 of lookup

Verb

• pursue
• seek
• search (for or out)

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

Paste the message into the site's lookup tool, or upload your screenshot. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 21 Oct. 2026

Check your registration by using the State Board of Elections voter lookup tool. — Charlotte Observer, 20 Oct. 2026

Verb

However, Kim suggested that these records could indicate that Van Gogh was repeatedly looking up and watching the pre-dawn sky, which could have led to him seeing this exact sky on July 22. — Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 22 Oct. 2026

The iPhone Duo can run two apps on screen at the same time, which was useful for situations that involved looking up information or viewing content in multiple apps. — Lisa Eadicicco, CNN Money, 21 Oct. 2026

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