look up
/ˌlʊk ˈʌp/verb
look up is spelled L-O-O-K-U-P: 6 letters and 2 syllables. People search “look-up vs lookup” about 20 times a month (Google, United States). As a verb, look up means “Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see look, up” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in look up?
| Letters | 6: L-O-O-K-U-P |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | a phrase: the frequency list counts single words |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you pronounce look up?
- US /ˌlʊk ˈʌp/
Look up has 2 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-look_up.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with look up
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: lookup (one word or two).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of look up
- looks up present, singular, he/she/it
- looking up participle, present
- looked up participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does look up mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
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.
- 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.
noun
- 1
Alternative form of lookup.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Look up in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | bergauf gehen, aufwärtsgehen , nachschlagen , hochsehen, aufblicken |
| Spanish | mejorar , buscar , mirar hacia arriba |
| French | chercher |
| Portuguese | buscar, pesquisar, consultar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does look up come from?
Deverbal from look up.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).