Look up means to find information, such as a word in a dictionary, a phone number or a timetable. It is about searching for a specific fact in a reference book, an app or a search engine. The second common meaning is literal, to raise your eyes: She looked up from her book.
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look up + word/number/information; look it/them up; look up from + book/screen
- I looked up the opening hours online before we drove to the museum.
- Whenever I see a new word in an article, I look it up and write my own example.
- She looked up from her laptop when her manager walked in.
What changed
First versionIf you don't know the word, look up it in the dictionary.
RevisionIf you don't know the word, look it up in the dictionary.
Short words like “it” and “them” go between “look” and “up”: “look it up”. With an ordinary noun, both orders are possible: “look up the word” and “look the word up”. To a native speaker, “look up it” sounds clearly wrong, even if putting the object at the end seems logical.
“Look for” means to search for something lost or something you do not have yet: I'm looking for my keys. “Look up” means to find specific information in a dictionary, a timetable or a search engine. You cannot use “look up” for lost keys.
Your turn
I didn't know the word 'reluctant', so I ___ in an online dictionary.
Show the answer
looked it up — “It” goes between “looked” and “up”: that is how this verb works with short words like “it” and “them”. “Looked up it” sounds wrong to a native speaker, even though the meaning is clear.
What information did you look up recently before a trip or an important meeting? Write what exactly you looked up and where.
Before my job interview, I looked up the company's latest news on its website.
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