ENGLISH
REFERENCE

look up

phr. v..
A2 Elementary Oxford

phr. v.. to search for information in a book, list, or online.

phr. v.. to consult a reference source (book, database, website) in order to find specific information.


SIMPLE

I look up new words in my dictionary.

CONTEXTUAL

She looked up the train times on her phone before leaving the house.

COMPLEX

During the lecture, he discreetly looked up the etymology of the term on his tablet.

Particles
up
Separability
separable
Pattern
look + up + object / look + object-pronoun + up
Usage

se/when the object is a pronoun it must come between verb and particle.

Teaching tip

contrast with 'find out' (to discover a fact) and 'search for' (ongoing process); 'look up' implies using a specific reference.

Pitfall

I looked up it in the dictionary.I looked it up in the dictionary.pronoun objects must be placed between the verb and the particle.

© 2026 English Reference