Look for meaning
Look for means to try to find someone or something. It can also mean to want or hope to get a quality or result.
look for something
look for · looked · looking
I’m looking for my keys. Have you seen them?
Look for meanings and examples
2 meanings, each with its own CEFR level. A level marked ~ is our estimate: Oxford and Cambridge give none for that meaning.
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1
Try to find someone or something
look for something
- I’m looking for my keys. Have you seen them?
- She’s looking for a new job.
- We looked for a cheap hotel near the station.
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2
Want or hope to get a quality or result
look for somebody or something
- What do you look for in a flatmate?
- He’s looking for a fresh start in a new city.
- Employers look for people who can work in a team.
Café orders
New friends
At the airport
Slova
Use look for in real conversations
- Learn new words with picture cards
- Talk with Felix, an AI tutor, about the things you love
- Short lessons at your level, a few minutes a day
Is look for separable?
Look for is not separable. The thing you want always comes after for: look for my keys, look for them. Never put a pronoun in the middle.
Look for is about the search, not the result. When you succeed, you find something: I looked for my phone for an hour, and then I found it in my coat.
Verb tenses for look for
| Present | I look for · she looks for |
|---|---|
| Past | looked for |
| Present perfect | have looked for |
| -ing form | looking for |
Common mistakes with look for
What learners often say, and what to say instead.
Wrong: I looked my keys for everywhere.
Right: I looked for my keys everywhere.
Keep look and for together, and put the object after for.
Wrong: I’m looking my glasses.
Right: I’m looking for my glasses.
Look needs for before the thing you want to find.
Wrong: I looked for her, but I didn’t look her.
Right: I looked for her, but I didn’t find her.
Look for means try to find. To say you succeeded, use find.
Synonyms and opposites of look for
Words close to it, and words that mean the opposite.
Similar
- search fora little more formal; used for the internet, a database or a missing person
- seekformal; used in writing: seek advice
- look aroundwalk around a place to see what is there
Opposite
- findsucceed in getting what you were looking for
- look outbe careful and ready to see something that may come
Look for quiz
Three quick questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why.
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1I can’t find my wallet. I’ve been ___ it all morning.
Look for means try to find something.
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2Choose the right sentence.
The thing you want to find goes after for.
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3“What do you look for in a friend?” What does the speaker ask about?
Look for can mean want a quality: What do you look for in a friend?
More phrasal verbs with look
All phrasal verbs with look, by level, with an exercise
13 phrasal verbs start with look. Test yourself on all of them in a few minutes.
- look afterA2take care of someone or something and keep them safe and well
- look upA2find information in a dictionary, a book or online
- look forward toB1feel happy about something that is going to happen
- look outB1be careful, because something bad may happen
- look atA1turn your eyes towards someone or something
- look aroundB1walk around a place and look at the things in it
- look intoB2examine the facts about a problem to find out the cause
- look backB2think about something that happened in the past
- look down onB2think that you are better than someone
- look up toB2admire and respect someone
- look overC2check something quickly, to see if it is right
- look throughB2read or check something quickly, page by page
Look for FAQ
Questions people ask about look for.
What does look for mean?
Look for means try to find someone or something. It can also mean want a certain quality: She is looking for someone honest.
What is the difference between look for and look at?
Look at means turn your eyes to something you can already see. Look for means try to find something you cannot see yet.
Is it look for or look after?
They are different. Look for means search. Look after means take care of someone or something: I’m looking for my dog. I look after my sister.
Use look for in real conversations
In Slova you learn new words with picture cards, then use them when you talk about the things you love. A few minutes a day, at your level.