LOOK OUT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does look out mean? 

• LOOK OUT (verb)
  The verb LOOK OUT has 2 senses:

1. be vigilant, be on the lookout or be careful

2. to protect someone's interests

  Familiarity information: LOOK OUT used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• LOOK OUT (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Be vigilant, be on the lookout or be careful

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Synonyms:

look out; watch; watch out

Context example:

Watch out for pickpockets!

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "look out"):

beware; mind (be on one's guard; be cautious or wary about; be alert to)

keep one's eyes open; keep one's eyes peeled; keep one's eyes skinned (pay attention; be watchful)

look after (keep under careful scrutiny)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

lookout (the act of looking out)

lookout (a structure commanding a wide view of its surroundings)

lookout (an elevated post affording a wide view)

lookout (a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event)

Sense 2

Meaning:

To protect someone's interests

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Context example:

A man's gotta look out for his family

Hypernyms (to "look out" is one way to...):

protect (shield from danger, injury, destruction, or damage)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

 Context examples 

“And look out for squalls,” is Louis’s prophecy, “for they hate one another like the wolf whelps they are.”

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

You had rather look out for misery for Marianne, and guilt for poor Willoughby, than an apology for the latter.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

The Szgany must look out if they mean fight.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

We umble ones have got eyes, mostly speaking—and we look out of 'em.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Where does the window of that look out to?

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

A woman opened it just far enough to look out, and said, "What do you want, child, and why is that great Lion with you?"

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

He gained so far upon me, that I ventured to look out of the back window.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

“Well, Silver,” replied the doctor, “if that is so, I'll go one step further: look out for squalls when you find it.”

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

There are many possibilities, but I feel you will be protected, for good-fortune Jupiter—now in Capricorn, your eighth house of other people’s money—will look out for you.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

The warning was no idle one, for two nights later I happened to look out of my bedroom window about two o’clock in the morning.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)