look
vb mainly intr
1 often foll by: at to direct the eyes (towards)
to look at the sea
2 often foll by: at to direct one's attention (towards)
let's look at the circumstances
3 often foll by: to to turn one's interests or expectations (towards)
to look to the future
4 copula to give the impression of being by appearance to the eye or mind; seem
that looks interesting
5 to face in a particular direction
the house looks north
6 to expect, hope, or plan (to do something)
I look to hear from you soon, he's looking to get rich
a to search or seek
I looked for you everywhere
b to cherish the expectation (of); hope (for)
I look for success
a to be mindful (of)
to look to the promise one has made
b to have recourse (to)
look to your swords, men!
9 to be a pointer or sign
these early inventions looked towards the development of industry
10 foll by: into to carry out an investigation
to look into a mystery
11 tr to direct a look at (someone) in a specified way
she looked her rival up and down
12 tr to accord in appearance with (something)
to look one's age
13 ♦
look alive or lively hurry up; get busy
14 ♦
look daggers See →
dagger →
4
15 ♦
look here an expression used to attract someone's attention, add emphasis to a statement, etc.
16 ♦
look sharp or smart imperative to hurry up; make haste
17 ♦
not look at to refuse to consider
they won't even look at my offer of £5000
18 ♦
not much to look at unattractive; plain
n
19 the act or an instance of looking
a look of despair
20 a view or sight (of something)
let's have a look
21 often pl appearance to the eye or mind; aspect
the look of innocence, I don't like the looks of this place
22 style; fashion
the new look for summer
sentence connector
23 an expression demanding attention or showing annoyance, determination, etc. look, I've had enough of this (See also)
→
look after →
look back →
look down →
look forward to →
look-in →
look on →
lookout →
look over →
look through →
look up (Old English locian; related to Middle Dutch læken, Old High German luogen to look out) See at like
look after
vb intr, prep
1 to take care of; be responsible for
she looked after the child while I was out
2 to follow with the eyes
he looked after the girl thoughtfully
look back
vb intr, adv
1 to cast one's mind to the past
2 ♦
to never look back to become increasingly successful
after his book was published, he never looked back
3 (Chiefly Brit) to pay another visit later
look down
vb
1 intr, adv; foll by: on or upon to express or show contempt or disdain (for)
2 ♦
look down one's nose at
Informal to be contemptuous or disdainful of
look forward to
vb intr, adv + prep to wait or hope for, esp. with pleasure
look-in Informal
n
1 a chance to be chosen, participate, etc.
2 a short visit
vb
♦
look in
3 intr, adv; often foll by: on to pay a short visit
look on
vb intr
1 adv to be a spectator at an event or incident
2 prep (Also)
look upon to consider or regard
she looked on the whole affair as a joke, he looks on his mother-in-law with disapproval
♦
looker-on n
look over
vb
1 intr, prep to inspect by making a tour of (a factory, house, etc.)
we looked over the country house
2 tr, adv to examine (a document, letter, etc.)
please look the papers over quickly
n
♦
lookover
3 an inspection: often, specifically, a brief or cursory one
look-see
n
Informal a brief inspection or look
look through
vb
1 intr, prep or tr, adv to examine, esp. cursorily
he looked through his notes before the lecture
2 intr, prep to ignore (a person) deliberately
whenever he meets his ex-girlfriend, she looks straight through him
look up
vb adv
1 tr to discover (something required to be known) by resorting to a work of reference, such as a dictionary
2 intr to increase, as in quality or value
things are looking up
3 intr; foll by: to to have respect (for)
I've always wanted a girlfriend I could look up to
4 tr to visit or make contact with (a person)
I'll look you up when I'm in town
New Look
n the. a fashion in women's clothes introduced in 1947, characterized by long full skirts
wet look
n a shiny finish given to certain clothing and footwear materials, esp. plastic and leather