to look after
472
1.1
- phrasal verb
- /lʊk ˈæftər/
:
cuidar de
- It's important to look after your health by eating well and exercising.
- look after children
- look after one's health
- look after the home
They didn't have money to look after Ada's three children.
- They didn't have money to look after Ada's three children.
- We don't value looking after people who are ill.
- And I had to grow up and look after myself pretty quick.
- We protect and look after people's families and kids.
- So if you're looking after a child, it's a lot of work.
- But until then, look after your tortoises, people.
- Goat has been barred by a court from looking after her own pets.
- Things could go wrong no matter how well we think we're looking After Earth, you know?
- Well, you know from a very early age your parents have already looked after your security
- People just want to look after their families and grow.
- But yeah, she's got two teachers who, who look after her and.
Examples
-
Part-time jobs allow women time both to look after children and to carry out home responsibilities.
Academic text (2008) -
Someone has to look after this old dog.
-
And I had to grow up and look after myself pretty quick.
-
It's much more important to to look after yourself.
-
I will look after you like you looked after me.
-
I will remain with her and look after her forever.
-
Promise me that you will look after my family.
-
Prime Minister, we'll continue to look after people throughout the pandemic.
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We protect and look after people's families and kids.
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But I know you'll keep your promise to look after Dad if I'm not around.
Fiction book (1991)
Synonyms
∞
1.3
To look after a person or thing and deal with their needs
∞
1.3
To look after someone or deal with a problem
408
2.4
To watch someone or something carefully to make sure nothing bad happens
291
3.0
Watch carefully to notice danger or help someone
189
3.5
Watch and guide people doing tasks to keep the work correct and safe
145
2.3
To look after someone or something to keep them safe
30
3.1
To stay alert and watch for danger or trouble
8
3.0
Look at a person or thing very carefully for a while to notice problems
Antonyms
How Responsible
643
2.7
189
3.5
145
2.3
472
1.1
347
1.0
199
1.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
look + after
The meaning 'to take care of' is partly derivable from 'look' (to watch/observe) combined with 'after' (in the sense of attending to or following), so learners can infer a sense of watching over someone. However, the specific sense of assuming responsibility or care is a conventionalized phrasal-verb extension that is not fully predictable from the parts without exposure, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
The phrasal verb look after comes from a simple picture of someone who looks, or watches, and stays after another person or thing to keep them safe. So, to look after someone means 'to take care of' them or be responsible for them.