look

look¹ W1S1 [luk] v

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1¦(see)¦

2¦(search)¦

3¦(seem)¦

4¦(appearance)¦

5 look daggers at somebody

6 look somebody up and down

7 look somebody in the eye

8 look down your nose at somebody/something

9 look the other way

10 look no further

11¦(face a direction)¦

12 look before you leap

13 be looking to do something

14 look

15 look out!

16 look at that!

17 look who's here!

18 don't look now

19 look what you're doing/look where you're going etc

20 look what you've done!

21 look here

22 (I'm) just looking

Phrasal verbs

　look after somebody/something

　look ahead

　look around

　look at somebody/something

　look back

　look down on somebody/something

　look for somebody/something

　look forward to something

　look in

　look into something

　look on

　look something<=>out

　look out for somebody/something

　look something/somebody<=>over

　look round

　look through somebody/something

　look to somebody/something

　look up

　look up to somebody

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[: Old English; Origin: locian]

1.) ¦(SEE)¦

to turn your eyes towards something, so that you can see it

▪ We sneaked out while Jessie's mom wasn't looking.

▪ If you look carefully you can see that the painting represents a human figure.

▪ Gina covered her eyes, afraid to look.

look at

▪ 'It's time we left,' Ian said, looking at his watch.

▪ The men all turned to look at her as she entered the room.

look away/over/down etc

▪ Dad looked up from his paper and smiled.

▪ 'We can't go out in this weather,' said Bob, looking out of the window.

[i]see usage note ↑see¹

2.) ¦(SEARCH)¦

to try to find something

▪ I looked everywhere but Jimmy was nowhere to be found.

look for

▪ Could you help me look for my contact lens?

▪ If you're looking for a bargain, try the local market.

look in/under/between etc

▪ Try looking under the bed.

3.) ¦(SEEM)¦ [linking verb]

to seem

▪ From the way things look at the moment, the Republicans are unlikely to win this election.

look good/bad etc

▪ The future's looking good.

it looks as if/as though/like

(=it seems likely that)

▪ It looks as if it might rain later.

▪ It looks like they won't be needing us any more.

▪ You made me look really stupid in front of all my friends!

4.) ¦(APPEARANCE)¦ [linking verb]

to have a particular appearance

▪ How do I look?

look tired/happy/sad etc

▪ You look tired. You should go to bed.

look as if/as though/like

▪ He looked as if he hadn't washed for a week.

▪ What did the man look like ?

▪ My sister doesn't look anything like me.

→look like a million dollars [i]at ↑millionsee usage note ↑seem

5.) look daggers at sb informal

to look at someone with a very angry expression on your face

6.) look sb up and down

to look at someone carefully from their head to their feet, as if you were forming an opinion about them

7.) look sb in the eye

to look directly at someone when you are speaking to them, especially to show that you are not afraid of them or that you are telling the truth

▪ Owen didn't dare look his father in the eye.

8.) look down your nose at sb/sth

to behave as if you think that someone or something is not good enough for you

▪ He looks down his nose at anyone foreign.

9.) look the other way

to ignore something bad that is happening and not try to stop it

▪ Prison guards looked the other way as the man was attacked by fellow prisoners.

10.) look no further

used to say that something you are offering is exactly what someone has been trying to find

▪ Want a quiet country retreat for your weekend break? Then look no further!

11.) ¦(FACE A DIRECTION)¦ [I always + adverb/preposition]

if a building looks in a particular direction, it faces that direction

▪ The cabin looks east, so we get the morning sun.

12.) look before you leap

used to say that it is sensible to think about possible dangers or difficulties of something before doing it

13.) be looking to do sth informal

to be planning or expecting to do something

▪ We're looking to buy a new car early next year.

14.) spoken look

a) used to tell someone to look at something that you think is interesting, surprising etc

▪ Look! There's a fox!

b) used to get someone's attention so that you can suggest something or tell them something

▪ Look. Why don't you think about it and give me your answer tomorrow?

▪ Look, I've had enough of this. I'm going home.

15.) spoken look out!

used to warn someone that they are in danger

= ↑watch out

▪ Look out! There's a car coming.

16.) spoken look at that!

used to tell someone to look at something that you think is interesting, bad etc

▪ Look at that! What a horrible mess!

17.) spoken look who's here!

used when someone arrives unexpectedly

▪ Well, look who's here! It's Jill and Paul!

18.) spoken don't look now

used to say that you have seen someone but do not want them to know you have noticed them

▪ Oh no! Don't look now but here comes Tony.

19.) spoken look what you're doing/look where you're going etc

used to tell someone to be careful

▪ Look where you're putting your feet! There's mud all over the carpet!

20.) spoken look what you've done!

used to angrily tell someone to look at the result of a mistake they have made or something bad they have done

▪ Look what you've done - my jacket's ruined!

21.) spoken look here

old-fashioned used to get someone's attention in order to tell them something, especially when you are annoyed with them

▪ Look here, you can't say things like that to me!

22.) spoken (I'm) just looking

used when you are in a shop, to say that you are only looking at things, but do not intend to buy anything now

▪ 'Can I help you?' 'No, thanks. I'm just looking.'

→look kindly on sb/sth at ↑kindly¹ (3)

look after / [look after sb/sth] phr v

1.) to take care of someone by helping them, giving them what they need, or keeping them safe

= ↑take care of

▪ Don't worry, I'll look after the kids tomorrow.

▪ Susan looked after us very well. She's an excellent cook.

▪ You could tell that the horse had been well looked after .

2.) to be responsible for dealing with something

= ↑take care of

▪ I'm leaving you here to look after the business until I get back.

3.) look after yourself

spoken especially BrE used when you are saying goodbye to someone in a friendly way

4.) can look after yourself

to not need anyone else to take care of you

▪ Don't worry about Maisie - she can look after herself.

look ahead phr v

to think about and plan for what might happen in the future

▪ Looking ahead, we must expect radical changes to be made in our system of government.

look around phr v

1.) to try to find something

look around for

▪ Jason's going to start looking around for a new job.

2.) look around/round (sth)

to look at what is in a place such as a building, shop, town etc, especially when you are walking

▪ Do we have to pay to look around the castle?

▪ Let's look round the shops.

look at / [look at sb/sth] phr v

1.) to turn your eyes towards something, so that you can see it

▪ The twins looked at each other and smiled.

2.) to read something quickly in order to form an opinion of it

▪ I really can't comment on the report - I haven't had time to look at it yet.

3.) to examine something and try to find out what is wrong with it

▪ You should get the doctor to look at that cut.

▪ Can you look at my car? There's a strange noise coming from the front wheel.

4.) to study and think about something, especially in order to decide what to do

▪ We need to look very carefully at ways of improving our efficiency.

5.) look at sb/sth!

spoken used to mention someone or something as an example

▪ You don't have to be smart to be good at music - look at Gary.

6.) to think about something in a particular way

= ↑see

▪ I'd like to be friends again, but Richard doesn't look at it that way.

7.) not much to look at informal

if someone or something is not much to look at, they are not attractive

look back phr v

1.) to think about something that happened in the past

look back on/to

▪ When I look back on those days I realize I was desperately unhappy.

▪ Looking back on it , I still can't figure out what went wrong.

2.) never look back

to become more and more successful, especially after a particular success

▪ After winning the scholarship he never looked back.

look down on / [look down on sb/sth] phr v

to think that you are better than someone else, for example because you are more successful, or of a higher social class than they are

▪ Mr Garcia looks down on anyone who hasn't had a college education.

look for / [look for sb/sth] phr v

1.) to try to find something that you have lost, or someone who is not where they should be

= ↑search for

▪ I'm looking for Steve - have you seen him?

▪ Detectives are still looking for the escaped prisoner.

→↑search² (1)

2.) be looking for sb/sth

to be trying to find a particular kind of thing or person

▪ I'm sorry, we're really looking for someone with no family commitments.

be (just) what/who you are looking for

▪ 'Salubrious'! That's just the word I was looking for.

3.) be looking for trouble informal

to be behaving in a way that makes it likely that problems or violence will happen

▪ They walked into a bar looking for trouble.

look forward to [look forward to sth] phr v

to be excited and pleased about something that is going to happen

▪ I'm really looking forward to our vacation.

look forward to doing sth

▪ My mother says she's looking forward to meeting you.

see usage note ↑wait¹

look in phr v

to make a short visit to someone, while you are going somewhere else, especially if they are ill or need help

= ↑drop in, call in ↑call in look in on

▪ I promised to look in on Dad and see if he's feeling any better.

look into [look into sth] phr v

to try to find out the truth about a problem, crime etc in order to solve it

= ↑investigate

▪ Police are looking into the disappearance of two children.

look on phr v

1.) to watch something happening, without being involved in it or trying to stop it

→↑onlooker

▪ Only one man tried to help us, the rest just looked on in silence.

2.) look on sb/sth also look upon sb/sth

to consider someone or something in a particular way, or as a particular thing

look on as

▪ I look on him as a good friend.

look on with

▪ Strangers to the village are looked upon with a mixture of fear and suspicion.

look out [look sth<=>out] phr v

to search for and find a particular thing among your possessions

▪ I'll look out some of my old books for you.

look out for / [look out for sb/sth] phr v

1.) to pay attention to what is happening around you, so that you will notice a particular person or thing if you see them

→↑lookout

▪ Look out for your Aunt while you're at the station.

▪ He's looking out for a nice apartment downtown.

2.) to try to make sure that someone is treated well

▪ My older brother always looked out for me when we were kids.

look out for yourself/number one

(=think only of the advantages you can get for yourself)

look over [look sth/sb<=>over] phr v

to examine something quickly, without paying much attention to detail

▪ Do you have a few minutes to look these samples over?

look round phr v

to look around

look through / [look through sb/sth] phr v

1.) to look for something among a pile of papers, in a drawer, in someone's pockets etc

= ↑go through

▪ I've looked through all my papers but I still can't find the contract.

2.) to not notice or pretend not to notice someone you know, even though you see them

look straight/right through sb

▪ I saw Fiona in the street yesterday and she looked straight through me.

look to / [look to sb/sth] phr v

1.) to depend on someone to provide help, advice etc

look to somebody/something for

▪ We look to you for support.

look to sb to do sth

▪ They're looking to the new manager to make the company profitable.

2.) to pay attention to something, especially in order to improve it

▪ We must look to our defences.

look up phr v

1.) if a situation is looking up, it is improving

= ↑improve, get better ↑get better

▪ Now the summer's here things are looking up !

2.) look sth <=>up

if you look up information in a book, on a computer etc, you try to find it there

▪ Look the word up in your dictionary.

▪ I'll just look up the train times.

3.) look sb <=>up

to visit someone you know, especially when you are in the place where they live for a different reason

▪ Don't forget to look me up when you come to Atlanta.

look up to [look up to sb] phr v

to admire or respect someone

▪ I've always looked up to Bill for his courage and determination.

look ²

look² W1S1 n

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1¦(look at)¦

2¦(expression)¦

3¦(consider)¦

4¦(search)¦

5¦(appearance)¦

6¦(way something seems)¦

7¦(beauty)¦

8¦(fashion)¦

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1.) ¦(LOOK AT)¦ [C usually singular]

an act of looking at something

have/take a look (at sb/sth)

▪ Let me have a look at that - I think it's mine.

▪ Take a good look at the photo and see if you recognize anyone in it.

▪ I took one look at the coat and decided it wasn't worth £50.

have/take a look around also have/take a look round

BrE (=look at all the things in a particular place)

▪ I have a special interest in old houses. Do you mind if I take a look around?

2.) ¦(EXPRESSION)¦

an expression that you make with your eyes or face

give sb a look

▪ Mike gave him such a severe look he didn't dare argue.

▪ Why has Jake been giving me dirty looks (=unfriendly looks) all morning?

3.) ¦(CONSIDER)¦ [singular]

an act of examining something and thinking about it

have/take a look (at sb/sth)

▪ Have you had a chance to take a look at my proposal yet?

▪ I asked the vet to have a quick look at the puppies as well.

▪ It's time to take a fresh look at the old problem of low pay.

▪ This month, take a long hard look (=examine very carefully) at where your money is going.

4.) ¦(SEARCH)¦ [singular]

an attempt to find something

▪ I can't find them anywhere. Have a look yourself.

▪ She had a good look (=searched carefully) through the files.

5.) ¦(APPEARANCE)¦ [C usually singular]

the appearance that someone or something has

▪ The area has a very seedy look to it.

▪ Mr Flynn had a tired, ill look in his eyes.

not like the look of sb/sth

(=think that something bad has happened or will happen because of something's appearance)

▪ We should turn back now. It's getting dark and I don't like the look of those rain clouds.

6.) ¦(WAY SOMETHING SEEMS)¦

the way something seems to be

▪ The neighbours are back from holiday by the looks of it (=that is how it seems) .

▪ I don't like the look of this new policy (=I do not like the way it seems) .

7.) ¦(BEAUTY)¦

looks [plural]

physical attractiveness

▪ Fiona's got everything - looks, money and youth.

▪ You get your good looks from your mother.

▪ When she lost her looks (=became less attractive) she found it difficult to get work.

8.) ¦(FASHION)¦ [singular]

a particular style in clothes, hair, furniture etc

▪ The hippy look is back again.