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

Staring at the stars On carpets laid out for the weekend excursion in May, families speaking Arabic, English and Russian looked up at the sky. —Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2026

Caudhy Salomon, a 15-year-old attending Miami Beach Senior High, has long idolized and looked up to the Haitian football team, driving his love for the sport and his decision to play for Little Haiti FC, a championship-winning team in youth football. —Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 30 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