Definition of "look up" in English

Verb

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

   • We stayed up late to look up at the stars.

2. To have better prospects.

   • Things started looking up after Jim moved back in with his parents.

3. To obtain, or seek to obtain, information about something. To obtain information about something from a reference book.

   • 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.

4. To obtain information about something from a reference book.

   • I didn't know what a mitochondrion was until I looked it up in a dictionary.

5. To enter a query into a database or search engine.

   • If you look up a bunch of random characters, there will probably be no results.

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