Phrasal Verbs 401-500

401.
help out

help … out
To assist someone in their work, e.g. On weekends, the husband helps out in the kitchen.
To support someone who has problems, e.g. Jack is an tiger trainer and he needs an assistance, but nobody dares to help out.
402.
hem … in
To surround and restrict the space or movement of someone or something.
403.
hike … up
To pull or lift up clothing, e.g. She hiked up her skirt to climb the ladder.
404.
hinge on/upon
To depend entirely on someone or something.
405.
hire … out
To allow the temporary use of something in exchange for payment.
406.
hit back
hit on

hit out

To retaliate in kind.
To think of a good idea.
To discover something by chance.
To strike at someone.
To express strong disapproval of something or someone.
407.
hitch … up
To lift or roll up one’s clothing, e.g. to hitch up one’s trousers.
To harness a draught animal.
408.
hive … off
To separate something from a large group, such as to sell a company in a conglomerate.
409.
hold … against



hold back

hold ... down


hold forth

hold off



hold ... off



hold on


hold on to




hold out






hold out for

hold out on


hold up

hold ... up




hold with
To continue to blame and dislike someone, e.g. Despite the years that have passed, Jack still holds it against Jill for something she did that caused him embarrassment.

To stop oneself from doing something or expressing an emotion.

To succeed in retaining one’s job.
To keep prices from rising.

To talk at length on a subject.

To postpone doing something, e.g. They hold off renovating the house until next year when they can better afford to pay for it.

(Bad weather) to fail to occur.
To ward off someone or something from harming or affecting one, e.g. They are planning a way to hold the enemy off while looking for an escape route.

To wait for a short time, e.g. Would you like to hold on or call back? She’s in the toilet.

To persist in doing something despite the difficulty encountered, e.g. They managed to hold on to a piece of debris until help arrived.
To grasp something firmly, e.g. She held tightly on to the rail as she climbed the stairs.

To extend one’s hand, e.g. We have not met for a long time and when I hold out my hand, he grabs it tight.
To make something such as money, etc. last, e.g. I’m spending less, so it holds out until my next payday.
To resist something such as attack, pressure, temptation, etc., e.g. They were under siege but managed to hold out until reinforcements arrived.

To be not prepared to receive less than what is demanded.

To refuse to provide someone with information, an answer, etc. that is needed.

To continue to remain strong, valid, etc.

To delay the progress of someone or something, e.g. work is held up by workers’ strike.
To commit a robbery, e.g. A couple of men succeeded in holding a bank up by using toy guns.

To adopt someone or something as a role model or example.
To approve or agree with something, e.g. Most parents do not hold with using the cane in school.
410.
hole up
To hide oneself, especially from the law.
411.
hollow … out
To remove the inside part of something.
412.
home in on
To aim at something and move directly towards it with a purpose, e.g. to identify a problem and home in to resolving it.
413.
hook … up
hook up with
To connect an electronic equipment to an electricity supply.
To get acquainted with someone and become friendly with them.
414.
horn in
To interrupt without invitation or necessity.
415.
horse around/about
To fool around or about.
416.
hose … down
To wash something or someone using a hose.
417.
hot up
To become more active, exciting, or dangerous.
418.
howl … down
To prevent someone or something from being heard by shouting loudly and angrily.
419.
hunt … down
To search diligently for and capture or kill someone or an animal
420.
Hurry up/hurry … up


To make someone or something move, act, finish or happen more quickly, e.g. If we don’t hurry up, we are going to be the last ones in the long queue. / We hurried the waiter up as we had waited almost half an hour.
421.
hush … up
To prevent something from being expressed publicly, especially about something dishonest or immoral.
422.
hype … up
To promote or publicize someone or something in a exaggerated way.
423.
ice … down
ice over/up
To cover injury with ice to prevent swelling.
To become covered or blocked with ice.
424.
identify with
To feel oneself as having the same characteristics, thinking or feelings as someone else.
425.
idle … away
To spend time doing nothing.
426.
imbue … with
To make someone fill with an emotion or quality.
427.
impinge on/upon
To have an effect on someone or something.
428.
improve on/upon
To make or do something better than before.
429.
impute … to
To regard something, especially something bad, as being caused by someone else.
430.
inform against/on
To give vital information about someone to the police, enemy, etc.
431.
infringe on/upon
To intrude on someone’s freedom or rights.
432.
ink … in
To write or mark something with ink.
433.
inquire after
inquire into
inquire … of
To ask someone about their health, well-being, etc.
To investigate about something or someone.
To ask someone about someone else or something.
434.
insist on
To firmly continue doing something.
435.
interfere with
To prevent something from succeeding or continuing in the way that was planned.
To sexually molest, especially a child.
436.
inure … to
To make someone accustomed to something, especially something unpleasant so that they are used to it.
437.
invalid …out
To leave the armed services or to remove someone from active military service because of injury or illness.
438.
inveigh against
To speak or write about someone or something with great hostility or criticism.
439.
inveigle … into
To persuade someone to do something, especially by deceit or flattery.
440.
invest in

invest … with
To buy a financial product with a view of making a profit.
To buy something useful, e.g. a grey winter suit.
To endow someone with power or authority to perform a duty or with a particular quality or character.
441.
invite … along


invite ... back
invite ... in
invite ... over
To ask someone to come along to some place such as a cinema, etc.

To ask someone to come to one’s house, etc.
To ask someone to come into one’s house, office, etc.
To ask someone to come over to one’s house, for dinner, etc.
442.
iron … out
To resolve a problem.
To remove folds from clothes by ironing them.
443.
issue forth


issue from
(Sound, etc.) to emanate or come out from something or a place.

(Smoke, etc.) to emit or come out from somewhere.
444.
jack around


jack ... in
jack off
jack up

jack ... up
To waste someone’s time by causing inconvenience or problems.

To stop doing something.
To masturbate.
To inject oneself with a narcotic drug.
To refuse to participate.
To raise something, e.g. to jack a car up in order to change its wheels.
To increase something considerably such as prices, sales, etc.
445.
jazz … up
To make something more interesting or exciting.
446.
jerk … around
jerk off
jerk out
To deal with someone dishonestly or unfairly.
To masturbate.
To utter something in a quick and unsteady manner.
447.
jib at
To become unwilling to do or accept something.
448.
jibe at
To make an insulting or mocking remark.
449.
jog along
To continue in the same steady way.
450.
join in
join up
join up with
join with
To take part in an activity.
To become a member of the armed services.
To form a group with other people in order to do something.
To do or say something together, e.g. to join with fellow church members say prayers.
451.
jolly … along
jolly … up
To encourage someone to do something faster.
To make someone or something more lively and cheerful.
452.
jot … down
To write something quickly.
453.
joy in
To have a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.
454.
juice … up
To make something more interesting or exciting.
455.
jump at
jump in
jump on
To eagerly accept the chance to do something.
To join a conversation suddenly by interrupting.
To criticize or attack someone, usually unfairly.
456.
keel over
(Boat, ship) to turn over on its side; to fall over sideways.
457.
keep at

keep … at
keep away





keep back


keep ... back

keep ... down


keep from



keep ... from



keep ... in



keep in with


keep off




keep on




keep on about


keep on at

keep ... on


keep out



keep out of


keep to














keep up
To continue a course of action, e.g. We kept at it until we completely fitted together all the pieces of a jigsaw.
To force someone to continue a course of action.
To make someone or something avoid going somewhere or seeing someone else, e.g. We keep away from this guy who often gets drunk and swears.
To keep someone or something away from someone or something else, e.g. Gun owners should ensure they keep away their guns beyond the reach of their children.

To refrain from telling someone what you know, e.g. He keeps back when asked how he sustained a black eye.

To withhold paying or giving something to someone.

To stop something from increasing, e.g. The producer is increasing the supply of its products in order to keep their prices down.

To refrain from sharing information with someone, e.g. He knows he cannot keep the incident from his family for very long.

To prevent someone from doing something or something from happening, e.g. We just could not keep ourselves from buying those big, juicy looking apples.
To protect someone from possible danger or a mishap.

To make someone stay indoors, e.g. His parents keep him in most of the time to prevent him from mixing with those bad neighbours’ kids..

To remain on friendly terms with someone, especially because this is very advantageous.

To protect something from some other things, e.g. putting things in container to keep vermin off.
To make someone stay away from something or someone else, e.g. The doctor advised the parents to keep her off sugary stuff.

To continue doing something, e.g. He keeps on complaining about his parents to me.
To retain someone in employment, e.g. He has attained retirement age but the company keeps him on because of his immense experience.

To talk constantly about something, especially about one’s personal problems.

To bother someone with repeated requests.

To retain someone or something such as to continue to employ someone, etc., e.g. He is still kept on the company payroll despite having reached retirement age.

To usually appear on signboard warning people to stay away from a place, e.g. A signboard warns passersby to keep out as construction work is still in progress.

To refrain from getting involved in something, e.g. We often discuss current issues but keep out of sensitive ones.

To keep to a particular place, e.g. If motorists keep to their lanes as much as possible when driving, the number of accidents might be reduced.
To observe an agreement and do what one promises to do, e.g. I have not been keeping to my work schedule and now my work is piling up .
To keep something secret, especially something that has been confided in one, e.g. No matter how hard she tries, she just cannot keep anything to herself.
To keep to the topic one is talking, writing or discussing about which one is supposed to.
To confine or restrict oneself to a particular place, e.g. The nurses tell him to keep to his ward where he is a patient instead of wandering into other wards to chat.
To maintain something at a certain level, e.g. They have been reminded again to keep their spending to within the amount allowed in the budget.

To continue to maintain one’s good performance, e.g. to keep up the good work.
To keep abreast of current affairs by reading and learning, e.g. to keep up with the development in the field of medicine.
To move or progress at about the same rate as someone or something else, e.g. Some of them were not able to keep up with others in their class in school that led to their dropout.
To acquire about the same possessions as those of friends and neighbours, e.g. She tries to keep up her extravagant lifestyle by incurring huge debts through heavy use of her credit cards.
To prevent someone from going to bed, e.g. to drink strong coffee to keep oneup the whole night.
To maintain something at a high level, e.g. The suppliers of a product conspire to manipulate its supply in order to keep up the price.
458.
key … in
To enter or work on data by using a computer keyboard.
459.
kick against

kick around/about





kick ... around 



kick back


kick in 


kick ... in





kick off




kick ... out
To express disagreement or frustration with someone or react strongly against something;
To travel from place to place wander with no explicit aim, e.g. He has been kicking around the coastal area for the past year.
(Place or thing) awaits exploration and exploitation, e.g. Some of the things we need for this project could be kicking around in the attic.

To treat someone badly, unfairly and without respect, e.g. He never seems to kick his workers around.
To discuss an idea with other people casually, e.g. We could kick around the possibility of migrating.

To be at leisure or relaxing, e.g. He decides to kick back the whole day and call  in sick.

To have an effect, e.g. to begin to feel the pain of the wound kicking in.

To injure someone, e.g. He was sent off for deliberately kicking the other player’s ankle in.
To gain access, e.g. The neighbours had to kick the door in to rescue a child from the fire.
To contribute money, help, etc., e.g. The villagers are all willing to kick in and help with the building of a new bridge.

To start off a football match, e.g. They decide that the match should not kick offthis afternoon due to adverse weather conditions.
To remove one’s shoes by shaking the feet, e.g. He habitually kicks off his shoes on arriving home.

To expel or dismiss someone, e.g. got kicked out of the house or kicked out of the club.
460.
kid around
To behave in a silly way.
461.
kill … off
To kill a lot of lives, e.g. the discharge of chemicals into the river has killed off a variety of fish species.
462.
kiss up to
To be excessively obedient or attentive to someone for a selfish reason.
463.
kit … out
To provide someone with the appropriate clothing and equipment for an activity.
464.
knock around/about






knock ... back




knock ... down






knock off


knock ... off













knock ... out






knock over


knock ... together


knock ... up
To travel, especially without a specific purpose, e.g. He intends to knock around a few countries before he gets married.
To hit someone, e.g. He used to get knocked around when he was staying with his drinking father.
To be present at a particular place, e.g. There is a hammer knocking about in the attic but I just couldn’t find it.

To drink heavily and quickly, He can easily knock back five bottles when he has the mood.
To spend on costly things, e.g. The air fare has knocked her back by some four hundred pounds, but it was worth it.

To hurt or kill someone by hitting them accidentally with a car, e.g. He wasknocked down by a car as he was dashing across a road.
To reduce substantially the price of something, e.g. Sale has been poor so the seller knocks down some of the prices by as much as half.
To destroy something and replace it with something better, e.g. They knock down the garage to build a bigger one.

To finish the day’s work, e.g. He does not knock off at the same time every day.

To kill someone, e.g. Pictures of him with a reward for information leading to his capture are all over the country after he knocked off the police chief.
To have sex with someone.
To deduct points from the total, e.g. Each contestant will have one pointknocked off for each wrong answer.
To reduce prices.
To accidentally or deliberately strike something onto the ground from a surface, e.g. My arm knocked a glass ashtray off the table and broke it into pieces.
To tell someone to stop bothering one, e.g. He yelled out, “Knock it off” at someone in a crowded place.
To produce something quickly, e.g. She knocked off a couple of poems for the school magazine.

To eliminate contestants, e.g. He was knocked out early in the contest. To lose a boxing match, e.g. He was knocked out by the opponent’s left hook.
To make someone unconscious, e.g. A brick fell on the head of a passerby andknocked him out.
To destroy something, e.g. Aerial attacks have knock out their ammunition factory.

To hit someone or something with a car, e.g. The dog was knocked over when it was running across the street.

To combine or assemble something from whatever one has, e.g. He knocked together a dinner from last night’s leftovers.

To awaken someone by knocking at their door, e.g. Every morning she has to knock him up for work.
To make something hurriedly, e.g. They got together and knocked up a big kite for a kite flying contest the next day.
465.
know about


know of 
To be aware of, e.g. There are still many things in this world we don’t really know much about, such as whether or not Nessie exists, the Bermuda Triangle, UFOs, etc.

To be aware of something but lack knowledge concerning it.
466.
knuckle down
knuckle under
To devote oneself diligently to a task.
To unwillingly submit to someone’s authority or orders.
467.
ladle … out
To distribute something in large amounts such as advice, praise, compliments, etc.
468.
land … in
land on
land up

land up with
land … with
To cause someone to be in a difficult situation;
To speak angrily to someone
To finally reach one’s desired place, position, destination, etc. despite the difficulties.
To end up with an unpleasant or unwelcome situation.
To assign someone with an unpleasant task.
469.
lap … up
To accept something with considerable pleasure and enjoyment
470.
lapse into
To pass gradually into a different, often worse, state or condition.
471.
lark about/around
To have fun by behaving in a playful way.
472.
lash out
To attack someone verbally, e.g. He lashed out at his critics for their derogatory remarks.
(Animals) to react violently using, typically their paws, or other parts of its body such as their mouths, tails, etc.
473.
latch on

latch onto
To understand the meaning of something, e.g. It wasn’t easy for him but finally he managed to latch on.
To have full affection for someone and aim to be their steady companion, e.g. He has been looking for a long time for an attractive lady whom he can latch onto.
To develop a keen interest in something.
474.
laugh at
laugh … off
To ridicule someone or something.
To treat something as unworthy of serious consideration, e.g. All his friends have been trying to convince him that he is putting on a lot of weight, but he justlaughs it off.
475.
launch into

launch out
To start something with great energy and interest, or criticism of someone or something.
To undertake something new and risky on one’s own such as a business enterprise.
476.
lay about
lay … aside





lay ... down





lay ... in

lay into


lay off










lay ... on




lay ... out







lay over

lay to

lay ... up
To attack someone violently.
To put something away for future use, e.g. He has been laying a small sum of money aside in his savings account to meet future needs.
To defer doing something, e.g. The developer has decided to lay aside a major construction project until the economy improves.

To put down weapons, tools, etc., e.g. The gang members were ordered to lay down their weapons and surrender to the police.
To introduce a regulation, law, etc., e.g. The local authority laid down a by-law against owners letting their dogs loose in the streets.

To store a large supply of something for future use.

To attack someone physically or verbally, e.g. She would lay into her partner whenever she feels she is provoked.

To discharge workers from employment, either for a temporary period or permanently due to shortage of work, e.g. My brother was one of those who were laid off during the recent recession.
To give up something, e.g. He just couldn’t lay off betting no matter how hard he tries.
To stop doing, having, or using something, e.g. I advised her to lay off eating excessively as she is putting on weight by the minute.
To stop bothering someone, e.g. You have been annoying me and if you don’t lay off, I’m going to thump you hard on the head.

To provide service such as food, entertainment, etc.
To entrust someone with a responsibility to tackle a problem, task, etc., e.g. They think he was the best man to lay the responsibility on to organize the weekend jumble sale.

To spread something out such as a map, carpet, etc.
To arrange or plan the construction of something such as a building, garden, town, etc.
To spend a large sum of money for a particular purpose, e.g. Together, they laid out a vast sum for interior decoration of their house.
To prepare a dead body for burial.
To knock someone unconscious.

To sojourn somewhere before resuming one’s journey.

(Ship) to stop moving.

To be unable to do anything due to illness or injury.
To take a ship, vehicle, etc. out of service.
477.
lead into

lead off

lead to




lead up to
(Something) to happen and then followed by another as there is a close connection between them.
To connect directly to another place, e.g. The corridor leads off to the backyard.
To be a route or means of access to a particular place, e.g. This road leads tothe park.
To be the result of an action, e.g. The Police offer a reward for any informationleading to the arrest of the wanted man.

(Events, etc.) to lead to a final outcome, e.g. No one knows what were the preceding events that led up to the manager’s dismissal.
To say or write something that supports your intention which is not mentioned, e.g. Jack didn’t directly say he wanted to be captain of the team, however he led up to it by talking about his ability to lead.
478.
leaf through
To turn the pages of a book, magazine, etc. casually.
479.
leak out
To intentionally make secret information known to people.
480.
lean on

lean towards
To rely on someone or something for support, encouragement, etc.
To influence someone to act in a certain way.
To have a tendency to support a view, belief, idea, opinion, etc.
481.
leave … behind









leave ... off



leave ... out



leave over
To forget to bring someone or something along, e.g. He left his cell phone behind in his car.
To move faster than someone else, e.g. He is certain to win the gold medal as he leaves the other marathon runners far behind.
To go away from someone or something, e.g. He left his wife and kids behindand sought employment overseas.
To be slow and make less progress than others, e.g. I watch television more than I work hard; not surprisingly, I’m left behind by others.

To omit to add or put on something.
To discontinue doing something, e.g. I use a bookmark to help me remember where I leave off when I stop reading.

To deliberately or accidentally overlook the inclusion of someone or something, e.g. They have to leave him out from participating in any of the athletic events because he is far too fat.

To exceed a desired amount, e.g. I’ll leave the remaining food over for tomorrow.
482.
lech after/over
To show excessive or offensive sexual desire for a woman.
483.
let … down



let ... in/let ... into






let ... in on


let … off







let on

let out


let ... out







let up
To disappoint someone by not meeting their expectations, e.g. He assured me that he would come in first in the race, but he let me down by not turning up for the race.

To open the door of a building, house, etc. for someone to enter, e.g. She was still angry with me and would not let me in when I arrived.
(Light, air, etc.) to enter a place, e.g. Whenever it rained a crack on the roof letwater seep in.
To share a secret with someone, e.g. Is it wise to let him into our secret plan to smuggle cigarettes?

To reveal a secret to someone with the understanding that they keep it to themselves, e.g. He let me in on how he acquired his wealth.

To fire a gun or make bomb, firework, etc. explode, e.g. Despite the official ban on firecrackers, people nationwide are letting them off to usher in the new year.
To decide not to punish someone, e.g. The victim’s family was furious when the judge let the offender off with only a warning.
To release someone from public transport, etc., e.g. The bus driver let the elderly passenger off in front of her house.

To make known secret information to someone.

To make a sound such as a scream, cry, etc., e.g. Her nightmare caused her tolet out a scream of terror.

To allow someone or something to leave a confined area, building, etc., e.g. The zoo attendant opened a cage door and let some monkeys out to roam freely.
To make an item of clothing larger or looser as its owner has put on weight, e.g. This is the second time she is letting her dress out as she has put on more weight.
To allow someone else occupy a room, building, etc, in return for periodic payments.

(Storm, high winds, etc.) to become less intense, e.g. It looks like the rain is not going to let up any time soon.
To do something continuously, e.g. to grumble without letting up.
484.
level at


level off/out
level with
To publicly accuse or criticize someone, e.g. level an accusation at.
To aim a weapon at someone.
To become level, e.g. the steep road begins to level off.
To have a frank talk or discussion with someone.
485.
lick … up
To drink or eat something by licking it.
486.
lie about/around



lie behind

lie down



lie in

lie with
To leave something untidily somewhere, e.g. She can really tolerate the sight of old newspapers, magazines, books, etc. lying around her.
To lie down and not doing anything, e.g. He is lying around watching television.
To be the real reason for a change of behaviour, e.g. something lies behind his sudden heavy drinking.
To accept unfair treatment without complaining, e.g. how long is he going to take this lying down?
To put oneself in a sleeping position.

To remain in bed longer than usual.

To have power, authority, etc., e.g. the responsibility to deal with the problemlies with the local authority.
To have sex with someone.
487.
lift off
lift up
(Aircraft, spacecraft, etc.) to rise into the air.
To raise something from a surface, e.g. I lifted up an overturned can and a big insect hopped away.
488.
light up





lighten up


lighten ... up
To provide light to a place or shine light on something, e.g. They light up trees in the city with multi-coloured light bulbs for the festive season.
(Face or eyes) to show pride, liveliness or joy;
To light something such as a cigarette, cigar, etc., e.g. He has no lighter or matches and so goes around borrowing them to light up his cigarettes.
To treat someone in a particular way, e.g. You have been grumbling at me for hours, aren’t you going to lighten up soon?
To be or to tell someone to be less serious about something, e.g. If she had realized it was just a joke, it would have lightened her up.
489.
liken … to
To resemble someone else or something.
490.
limber up
To warm up in preparation for an exercise or activity.
491.
line up
line … up
To form a queue with others.
To form a line of people or things, e.g. They line up for inspection.
To have someone or something prepared for a specific purpose, e.g. to line upa number of speakers for the rally.
492.
link up
To form a link between or connection with something or someone.
493.
listen for
listen in

listen out
To pay one’s attention to a sound;
To listen to a radio broadcast.
To eavesdrop.
To listen carefully for something.
494.
live in
live off


live on

live out





live through


live up to


live with
To reside at the place where one works or studies.
To depend on a source of income or support from another person, e.g. to live off the interest from one’s investment or live off the money regularly given by a relative such as a son or daughter.
To remember someone after they have died, e.g. the memory of their parents still lives on.
To live away from the place where one works or studies.
To continue to live one’s life in a particular place until one dies.
To fulfil one’s dreams or wishes, e.g. eventually they were able to live out their dreams.

To feel a horrific experience, e.g. the ordeal she had lived through.

To fulfil their obligation as a trustworthy financial, etc. institution, e.g. a bank has to live up to its reputation.

To make one’s home with someone, e.g. Despite my age, I’m still living withmy parents.
Endure someone or something that is disagreeable, e.g. I was born with a face marred by a big aquiline nose, sunken cheeks and sleepy eyes, and I have to learn to live with it.
495.
liven up
To become or make something more lively or interesting, e.g. the place livens up when more guests arrive.
496.
load … down
To entrust someone with excess authority.
To make someone or something carry or hold a large amount of heavy things, e.g. she struggles to push her trolley loaded down with a great deal of purchases.
497.
lobby … through
To seek to influence a legislator.
498.
lock … away



lock ... in

lock onto


lock ... out


lock up
To put someone in prison.
To keep something in a safe place and fasten its door with a lock, e.g. she places her valuables in a safe and locks it away.
To ensure no one leaves by locking the door, e.g. Closing the car door automatically locks the driver in.

When a missile locks onto a target, it heads for the target.

To keep someone out of a place by locking the door, e.g. My God, I’ve lockedmyself out but luckily I’m a locksmith, so I have ways to unlock the door without the key.

To make all the doors of the building locked when the day’s work ends.
To imprison a criminal after he was officially found guilty.
To keep something in a safe place such as a safe, etc. and lock its door.
499.
log in/on

log off/out
To take the required actions to begin the use of a computer system.
To take the required actions to conclude the use of a computer system.
500.
look after
look ahead
look around/round



look at



look back

look down on


look for


look forward to

look in

look into



look on

look out


look ... out

look out for


look ... over


look through

look to 


look up


look ... up




look up to
To take care of someone or something;
To plan for the future.
To try to find something or someone by looking, e.g. We heard a sound, and we looked around but there was nothing and nobody, and we started running through the dimly lit alley.

To focus one’s eyes on someone or something, e.g. We look at each other when we talk to each other.
To examine something and consider what action to take.

To recall something that occurred in the past.

To view others with a feeling of superiority, e.g. She looks down on me just because I’m jobless.

To find something, or something that has been lost or someone who is missing.

To wait eagerly for something that is going to happen, e.g. He looks forward toplaying in the next game.

To make a short visit to someone.

To try to find out what happened and take the necessary actions, e.g. Police, investigating a bank robbery, are looking into the possibility of an inside job.

To watch something without getting involved in it.

To keep a close watch on and be aware of someone or something.

To search for and find a particular thing.

To keep careful watch for possible danger or difficulties, e.g. Look out for snakes when you take that path, or you may step on one like I did.

To examine something quickly, without paying much attention to detail, e.g. We looked over the inside of a newly-opened store and left.

To look for one person or thing among many.

To rely on something or someone to do something.

(Situation) to improve, e.g. Now that oil has been discovered off the coast of the country, things are looking up.

To try to find a piece of information in a dictionary, reference book, etc, e.g. Every time he comes across an unknown word, he looks it up in a dictionary.
To renew contact with someone, e.g. My bother always looks me up whenever he is in town on business.

To have a great deal of respect for someone.

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