Look up
1 Improve
Meaning
Improve or get better. When things are looking up it looks like the situation is going to improve somehow.
Why up?
Up is used in some phrasal verbs with the idea of improving. When something is up, it's better or higher in some way.
Check out more phrasal verbs with the same preposition logic in Logic > up.
Collocations
So, what words go together with look up?
Examples
subject verb object
| I'm so glad that things are all looking up for you. |
| My financial situation is looking up at last. |
| Life was looking up and we were making lots of plans again. |
| The future is looking up for the hotel industry. |
| The day began looking up. |
| The odds are looking up for the team. |
| The economic outlook is looking up. |
| The US economy is looking up. |
| Business is looking up once again. |
| Our town's economic prospects are definitely looking up. |
| Demand is now looking up in nearly all sectors. |
| The beauty industry is definitely looking up. |
| I am pleased to say that trade is looking up. |
Grammar
inseparable Don't separate this phrasal verb in this context. Something looks up or something is looking up.
| Things are looking up. |
2 Search
Meaning
Search for something. Try to find some kind of information.
Collocations
So, what words go together with look up?
Examples
| Can you look up this word in the dictionary? |
| We looked up the definition. |
| I looked up the meaning of the expression. |
| I confess I had to look up the spelling. |
| I'll look up the information and let you know. |
| I looked up the number and called them. |
| I looked up the recipe and decided that I had to try it. |
| I looked up the address and went there. |
| I looked up the instructions and follow them carefully. |
| I had to look up the jargon to see what the terms meant. |
| We looked up flights just to get an idea of how much it would cost. |
| I looked up my symptoms and got really scared. |
| I began looking up ways to reduce my plastic use. |
Grammar
separable You can separate this phrasal verb. It can take an object. Someone looks something up, someone looks up something.
| I looked up the word. |
| I looked it up. |
3 Visit
Meaning
Visit someone after a long time, usually because you are in the area where they live.
Examples
| Look me up next time you are in town. |
| Don't forget to look me up when you come to London. |
| He told me to look him up if I was ever in the area. |
| If you ever find yourself in Scotland, do look me up. |
| Make sure you look us up the next time you are in town. |
Grammar
separable You can separate this phrasal verb. It can take an object. Someone looks someone up, someone looks them up.
| I looked him up. |