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

The phishing toolkit also performs live lookups of Mail Exchange records, which tell it what email provider the victim uses. —Alex Vakulov, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025

To find the school board member representing you, use the address lookup map above to find your district and then select that option from the drop-down below. —Claire Malon, Chicago Tribune, 17 Jan. 2025

Verb

Or maybe there is some friend who has a really strong moral compass and people look up to him. —Joan MacDonald, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2025

With Bryce Young’s progress things are looking up and GM Dan Morgan and the Panthers are looking to build off that, starting with the selection of wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan with the No. 8 pick. —Joseph Person, New York Times, 24 Apr. 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