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

Blocking license plate lookups would thwart additional risks of doxing, the DOJ claimed. —Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 29 May 2026

The idea is that no new protocol would be required, only an extension of infrastructure that already handles billions of lookups daily. —Kaustubh Phatak, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026

Verb

Including a sheer numbers game that my man Blair Kerkhoff suggested was in play and prompted me to look up. —Kansas City Star, 24 May 2026

Good times for the place have come and gone under various ownerships in the years since, and things are now looking up once more. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 May 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