Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

look up

/ˌlʊk ˈʌp/

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.71 in modern English

Syllables: look up
IPA: /ˌlʊk ˈʌp/

12

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

1

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see look, up.

verb

To have better prospects.

Intransitive verb

verb

To obtain, or seek to obtain, information about something.

Transitive verb

verb

To obtain, or seek to obtain, information about something.

Transitive verb

verb

To obtain, or seek to obtain, information about something.

Transitive verb

verb

To reconnect or meet with someone that one used to know.

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"We stayed up late to look up at the stars."
"Things started looking up after Jim moved back in with his parents."
"The United States Supreme Court, for example, has decided that a book or a film can be banned if it arouses the prurient interests of the average person. Now prurient—I looked that up—it means having itching morbid or lewd and lascivious desires."
""Why do you know about transgender stuff? Did you look it up because of me?" "Oh no. I find wanting to change forms totally normal. It never would've occurred to me.""
"I didn't know what a mitochondrion was until I looked it up in a dictionary."
"If you look up a bunch of random characters, there will probably be no results."

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˌlʊk ˈʌp/

Usage

Inflected Forms

looks up (present, singular) looking up (participle, present) looked up (participle, past) looked up (past)

Derived Forms

lookupable

Phrases

look someone up and down look up to

Frequently Paired Words

look someone up and down look up to lookup

Synonyms

get better improve ameliorate aprimorate (non-native speakers’ English (chiefly Portuguese)) amend batten better enhance hone meliorate refine look up

Questions

How do you pronounce look up?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌlʊk ˈʌp/.
What does look up mean?: Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see look, up.

How to pronounce look up

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “look up”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˌlʊk ˈʌp/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “look up”.
Repeat and practice — Say “look up” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.