A2 verb 3 min read

查字典

To find information in a book or on a computer.

chá zìdiǎn
Practice it

Explanation at your level:

When you do not know a word, you use a dictionary. You look up the word in the book. It helps you learn new things every day.

You can look up information on the internet. If you have a question, you can look up the answer on your phone or computer.

When reading academic texts, you often need to look up unfamiliar vocabulary. It is a useful strategy for independent learners to expand their knowledge.

Rather than guessing the meaning of a term from context, it is often more precise to look it up in a reliable dictionary to ensure accuracy.

In professional research, one must frequently look up data in archives or databases. This process is essential for verifying facts and maintaining high standards of scholarship.

The practice of looking up etymological roots allows a scholar to trace the historical evolution of a language, providing deep insights into cultural shifts over centuries.

Word in 30 Seconds

  • Used to find information
  • Separable phrasal verb
  • Very common in schools
  • Used for books and digital

When we say look up, we are talking about the act of searching for specific information. Think of it as being a detective for words! Whether you are using a heavy paper dictionary or a quick app on your phone, you are looking up definitions to better understand the world around you.

This phrasal verb is incredibly common in daily life. It is not just for dictionaries; you can look up a train schedule, a recipe, or even a friend's address. It implies a purposeful search where you know exactly what you are trying to find.

The verb look comes from the Old English 'locian', meaning to see or observe. The particle up has been used in English for centuries to indicate a sense of completion or intensity. When combined, look up evolved from the literal act of lifting one's eyes to look at something high, to the metaphorical act of 'looking up' information in a list or book.

In the 19th century, as literacy rates grew and reference books became more accessible, the phrase became standard in educational settings. It reflects the transition from oral traditions to a culture where information is stored in written, organized structures like indices and lexicons.

You use look up when you are consulting a source. The grammar is flexible: you can say 'look up the word' or 'look the word up'. Both are perfectly correct, though putting the object in the middle is very common in casual speech.

Common collocations include look up a word, look up a number, and look up information. It is a neutral term, meaning you can use it with your teacher, your boss, or your friends without sounding too formal or too slangy. It is the perfect 'go-to' verb for research tasks.

While look up is a phrasal verb, it appears in many idioms. Look up to someone means to admire or respect them. Things are looking up means a situation is improving. Look someone up means to visit them when you are in their area. Look up and down means to examine someone critically. Look up in the air is a literal expression often used when searching for something in the sky.

Look up is a separable phrasal verb. You can say 'I looked it up', but you cannot say 'I looked up it'. The stress usually falls on the 'up' when speaking, giving it a rhythmic quality: look-UP.

IPA: /ˈlʊk ʌp/. It rhymes with 'book up' or 'cook up'. In fast speech, the 'k' sound often blends into the 'u' sound, making it flow as one unit. Remember, the past tense is looked up, where the 'ed' sounds like a 't' because 'k' is an unvoiced sound.

Fun Fact

The phrasal verb usage grew with the rise of the printing press.

Pronunciation Guide

UK /lʊk ʌp/

Short 'u' sound in look, short 'uh' in up.

US /lʊk ʌp/

Very similar to UK, clear 'k' sound.

Common Errors

  • pronouncing 'look' like 'loop'
  • forgetting to stress 'up'
  • blending the words too much

Rhymes With

book up cook up hook up shook up took up

Difficulty Rating

Reading 1/5

Easy

Writing 1/5

Easy

Speaking 1/5

Easy

Listening 1/5

Easy

What to Learn Next

Prerequisites

look up word

Learn Next

research consult reference

Advanced

investigate scrutinize

Grammar to Know

Phrasal Verbs

look up

Separable Verbs

look it up

Past Tense

looked

Examples by Level

1

I look up words in my book.

look up = search

present simple

2

Can you look up his name?

search for name

modal verb

3

I look up the meaning.

find definition

SVO

4

She looks up the word.

third person

subject-verb agreement

5

We look up the address.

find location

present simple

6

They look up the time.

find schedule

present simple

7

I look up a fact.

find info

present simple

8

He looks up the price.

find cost

third person

1

I need to look up this word.

2

She looked up the recipe online.

3

Don't forget to look up the train times.

4

He looked up the phone number.

5

We look up new words every day.

6

They looked up the rules.

7

I will look up the answer for you.

8

Can you look up that store?

1

I had to look up the technical term in the glossary.

2

She is looking up historical data for her thesis.

3

It is faster to look up a word on an app.

4

He looked up the symptoms on a medical site.

5

They looked up the flight status.

6

I often look up synonyms to improve my writing.

7

We looked up the company's background.

8

You should look up the requirements before applying.

1

I had to look up the nuance of that legal phrase.

2

She looked up the reference in the library archives.

3

It is worth looking up the original source.

4

He looked up the etymology of the word.

5

They looked up the latest statistics.

6

I looked up the author's biography.

7

We looked up the regulations.

8

You can look up the verdict online.

1

The researcher looked up the primary source to verify the claim.

2

She looked up the obscure reference in the anthology.

3

He looked up the historical context of the treaty.

4

They looked up the data in the digital repository.

5

I looked up the philosophical definition.

6

We looked up the legislative history.

7

You should look up the precedent.

8

The professor looked up the citation.

1

She looked up the archaic term in the unabridged dictionary.

2

He looked up the linguistic roots in the etymological database.

3

They looked up the obscure legal citation.

4

I looked up the scholarly critique.

5

We looked up the historical manuscript.

6

You can look up the original Latin text.

7

The expert looked up the rare entry.

8

They looked up the complex terminology.

Common Collocations

look up a word
look up information
look up a number
look up a recipe
look up a fact
look up a definition
look up a schedule
look up a price
look up a name
look up a word in a dictionary

Idioms & Expressions

"look up to someone"

admire/respect

I look up to my father.

neutral

"things are looking up"

improving

My grades are looking up.

casual

"look someone up"

visit/contact

Look me up when you visit.

casual

"look up and down"

examine critically

He looked her up and down.

neutral

"look up the wrong tree"

misguided search

You're looking up the wrong tree.

idiomatic

"look up in the air"

staring blankly

He looked up in the air.

literal

Easily Confused

查字典 vs look at

both use look

look at is to see, look up is to search

Look at the bird / Look up the word.

查字典 vs search

both mean find

search is broader

Search the room / Look up the word.

查字典 vs find

both involve results

find is the result

I found it / I looked it up.

查字典 vs research

both involve study

research is deeper

I am researching history / I looked up a date.

Sentence Patterns

A1

Subject + look up + noun

I look up words.

A2

Subject + look + pronoun + up

I look it up.

B1

Subject + look up + noun + in + source

I look up words in books.

A1

Imperative + look up

Look up the answer!

A2

Subject + will + look up

I will look it up.

Word Family

Nouns

lookup the act of searching

Verbs

look to direct eyes

Related

dictionary the tool used

How to Use It

frequency

9

Formality Scale

Neutral Neutral Casual Slang

Common Mistakes

look up it → look it up
pronoun must go between the verb and particle
look at the word in the dictionary → look up the word in the dictionary
look up is the correct phrasal verb for searching
look up to the word → look up the word
to is only for people you admire
I looked the word to the dictionary → I looked the word up in the dictionary
wrong preposition
I searched up the word → I looked up the word
searched up is not standard English

Tips

💡

Memory Palace

Imagine a dictionary on your desk.

💡

Native Speakers

They use it for everything.

🌍

School Life

Used in every English class.

💡

Separator Rule

Pronouns go inside.

💡

Stress

Stress the 'up'.

💡

Object Placement

Don't put pronouns at the end.

💡

History

Comes from physical books.

💡

Habit

Look up one word daily.

💡

Past Tense

Add -ed.

💡

Context

Use for facts.

Memorize It

Mnemonic

Look UP at the book to find the answer.

Visual Association

A finger pointing at a dictionary page.

Word Web

Dictionary Search Information Research

Challenge

Look up three new words today!

Word Origin

English

Original meaning: To direct vision upwards

Cultural Context

None

Very common in classrooms.

Many dictionary commercials

Practice in Real Life

Real-World Contexts

School

  • Look up the term
  • Look up the definition
  • Look up the spelling

Work

  • Look up the data
  • Look up the file
  • Look up the contact

Travel

  • Look up the time
  • Look up the route
  • Look up the price

Home

  • Look up a recipe
  • Look up a showtime
  • Look up a number

Conversation Starters

"How often do you look up words?"

"Do you prefer paper or digital dictionaries?"

"What was the last thing you looked up?"

"Do you look up words when reading?"

"Is it easy to look up information now?"

Journal Prompts

Write about a word you looked up today.

Why is it important to look up information?

Describe your favorite dictionary.

How has technology changed how we look up things?

Frequently Asked Questions

8 questions

It is neutral.

Only with 'to' (admire) or 'up' (visit).

Looked up.

Yes, usually.

Yes.

Yes.

Very.

No, that is 'look up' literally.

Test Yourself

fill blank A1

I ___ up the word in my book.

Correct! Not quite. Correct answer: look

Present simple tense.

multiple choice A2

What does 'look up' mean?

Correct! Not quite. Correct answer: To search

It means to find information.

true false B1

Can you say 'look up it'?

Correct! Not quite. Correct answer: False

You must say 'look it up'.

match pairs B1

Word

Meaning

All matched!

Different meanings based on preposition.

sentence order B2

Tap words below to build the sentence
Correct! Not quite. Correct answer:

Pronoun goes in the middle.

Score: /5

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