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
According to the Fannie Mae area median income lookup tool, the area median income for Benton County is $92,400; 80% of that is $73,920 and 50% is $46,200. Campbell Roper, arkansasonline.com, 26 Mar. 2024 To see your sample ballot and polling location, visit the Kansas Secretary of State’s voter registration lookup and enter your first and last name and date of birth. Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 5 Mar. 2024 After building their secret lookup scheme, the authors turned to the real-world goal of a private internet search, which is more complicated than pulling bits of information from a database, Wichs said. Madison Goldberg, WIRED, 21 Jan. 2024 Overall fiber in a food is easy to find on the nutrition label of a food or with a quick lookup on the USDA’s FoodData Central database. Jessica Migala, Women's Health, 24 July 2023 The results are then compiled in a lookup table that the compiler uses to build the circuit. IEEE Spectrum, 2 Dec. 2023 The sample was supplemented with additional phone number lookups. Brianne Pfannenstiel, USA TODAY, 29 Aug. 2023 For public schools in Chicago, scroll down to the next lookup. Emily Hoerner, Chicago Tribune, 7 May 2023 The state of Michigan runs public databases, also called lookups, that allow anyone to check whether the license of an individual or business is active and can include whether they've been disciplined by state regulators. Christine MacDonald, Detroit Free Press, 4 Aug. 2023
Verb
After viewing this mural, be sure to look up Bakpak’s work. Richard Wilson, Detroit Free Press, 21 Apr. 2024 That’s above everybody’s eyesight so people don’t always look up until, again, its too big of a problem. Amaris Encinas, USA TODAY, 19 Apr. 2024 In the Northern Hemisphere, the best time to catch a glimpse of the Lyrids is to look up at the night sky during the darkest hours of the day, according to NASA. Jacqueline Pinedo, Sacramento Bee, 19 Apr. 2024 At one point, Nunes briefly looks up at the camera and smiles, before going back to talking to the deceased man as his head keeps falling back, the video shows. Samira Asma-Sadeque, Peoplemag, 18 Apr. 2024 At one point, Eilish grabs a vintage video camera and films the smiling faces looking up at her from the crowd. Steve Appleford, SPIN, 18 Apr. 2024 As another point of safety, don't look up while driving, please. Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 8 Apr. 2024 There was a lot of awe, disbelief and strained necks as people looked up for four minutes straight. Aliza Chasan, CBS News, 8 Apr. 2024 But just weeks after moving to a temporary home in Wisconsin, things are looking up for the senior dog. Mike Stunson, Kansas City Star, 8 Apr. 2024

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 24 Apr. 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!