Phrasal verb
look sth up
Definition
phrasal verb. To search for a piece of information in a book, on a computer, or online.
phrasal verb. To find a piece of information by searching in a reference source like a dictionary or database. This phrasal verb is transitive and separable.
Examples
“I need to look up the train times.”
“If you don't know the word's meaning, you can always look it up online.”
“The genealogist looked up centuries of parish records to trace the family's lineage back to the 1600s.”
Examples
simple
“I need to look up the train times.”
contextual
“If you don't know the word's meaning, you can always look it up online.”
complex
“The genealogist looked up centuries of parish records to trace the family's lineage back to the 1600s.”
Usage
The object is typically a piece of information like a word, a fact, or a number.
Teaching tip
Contrast with 'look for' (to search for a lost physical item) and 'look into' (to investigate a problem or situation).
Pitfall
I will look up it.
I will look it up.
When the object is a pronoun like 'it' or 'them', it must go between the verb and the particle.
Phrasal verb
Particles
up
Separability
separable
Pattern
look + up + object
Synonyms
Antonyms
Grammar
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/look-sth-up