lookup

1 of 2

noun

look·​up ˈlu̇k-ˌəp How to pronounce lookup (audio)
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

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
This includes battle card development, customer profiles, role-playing for call preparation and knowledge base lookups to answer specific customer questions or objections during a call. Expert Panel®, Forbes, 20 Sep. 2024 The servers providing domain name lookups provide translations for virtually any IP address—even when they’re known to be malicious. Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 3 May 2024
Verb
Things are looking up for GE Vernova , according to Deutsche Bank. Lisa Kailai Han, CNBC, 21 Oct. 2024 Richardson also looked up to civil rights activists Fannie Lou Hamer, a grassroots organizer in Mississippi, and Ella Baker, who served in roles with the NAACP, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and SNCC. Deborah Barfield Berry, USA TODAY, 20 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for lookup 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lookup.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1948, in the meaning defined above

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of lookup was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near lookup

Cite this Entry

“Lookup.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lookup. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

lookup

1 of 2 noun
look·​up ˈlu̇k-ˌəp How to pronounce lookup (audio)
: 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
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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