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Phrase(s): look up
to show promise of improving. • My prospects for a job are looking up. • Conditions are looking up., Phrase(s): look up (from something)
to gaze upwards; to stop reading or working and lift one’s gaze upward. • She looked up from her reading and spoke to us. • Mary looked up as we came into the room., Phrase(s): look someone or something up [and] hunt someone or something up
1. to seek someone, a group, or something out. • I lost track of Sally. I’ll try to look her up and get in touch with her. • I am going to look up an old friend when I am in Chicago. • I am going to hunt that old gang up. • Ted came into town and looked up his favorite pizza place. 2. to seek information about someone or something in a book or listing. • I don’t recognize his name. I’ll look him up and see what I can find. • I’ll look up this person in a reference book. • She looked herself up in the telephone book to make sure her name was spelled correctly.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
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1. Search for in a book or other source, as in I told her to look up the word in the dictionary. [Late 1600s] 2. Call on or visit, as in I'm going to look up my friend in Chicago. [Mid-1800s] 3. Become better, improve, as in Business is finally looking up. [c. 1800] 4. look up to. Admire, respect, as in The students really looked up to Mr. Jones. [Early 1700s]
American Heritage Idioms