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

His arrest was confirmed on the county’s inmate lookup system. —Cody Copeland, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Jan. 2025

Collin County Commissioners Court Dallas County Commissioners Court Denton County Commissioners Court Tarrant County Commissioners Court State representation: Find your U.S. congressperson, state representative, state senator and State Board of Education representative using this Texas lookup tool. —Tasha Tsiaperas, Axios, 5 Dec. 2024

Verb

Mikaela Shiffrin crossed the finish line, looked up at the board and fell to the snow. —Zack Pierce, The Athletic, 23 Feb. 2025

Norah is sitting on a chair while her sister looks up to her and dances to the song. —Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 22 Feb. 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