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

Read the full report for Sarpino’s Pizzeria by searching for the restaurant on the Kansas inspection lookup. —Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 7 Dec. 2025

California’s medical licensee lookup portal showed no records of other disciplinary actions, court orders, criminal convictions, malpractice judgements or malpractice settlements. —Grant Stringer, Mercury News, 1 Dec. 2025

Verb

Allow your eyes to adjust for at least half an hour, and look up. —Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 12 Dec. 2025

Soon enough, one of the fans notices her and looks up, prompting Eilish to bang on the window, which unleashes a tsunami of screams from the groggy crowd as other early-risers spring across the parking lot to get in on the rare pre-show avail. —Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 10 Dec. 2025

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