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Glite Dictionary
🔍 To search 🎉 To expect
to look for

to look for

49 1.0
To feel excited or worried about something that will happen
  • phrasal verb
  • /lʊk fɔr/
translation icon : esperar

How how, how can I be looking for you to put me on if I wouldn't?

Examples

  • This customer has a big game coming up and is looking for a little luck.

    Grave Intentions (2021)

  • We have over a billion dollars walking in and out of these offices looking for love.

    Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor (2013)

  • My sense is that when human human beings feel anxious, they look for security.

  • You'll get to know me, I'm always looking for something interesting.

    Playing for Keeps (2012)

  • Deep down, Annie is only looking for true friendship and love, neither of which favor her.

    Academic text (1999)

  • Academic achievement, both within the major and cumulatively, is a major element employers look for before hiring.

    Academic text (1994)

  • Typically, they're crunched for time, and if they can't find what they're looking for, they'll move on.

    Blog text (20)

  • As the event approached, she was excitedly looking for the chance to meet her favorite author.

  • He is always looking for new opportunities to learn and grow in his career.

  • During the holidays, many families are looking for ways to spend quality time together.

Synonyms

to expect
vsto look for
∞ 1.0

To think that something will happen

adds emotional excitement or anxious feeling to that belief
to look forward to
vsto look for
867 2.4

To want something to happen and feel excited about it

is similar but can include anxious excitement rather than only pleasure
to await
vsto look for
522 3.2

To wait for something with hope or excitement

is stronger in emotional excitement or anxiety about the expected event
to look to
vsto look for
214 3.2

To feel excited about something that will happen

is more about excited or anxious anticipation rather than hopeful planning
to anticipate
vsto look for
124 3.6

To feel excited or nervous about something that will happen

is the more common phrasing used in everyday speech
to foresee
vsto look for
77 3.9

To know or expect something before it happens

is about feeling excited or anxious rather than making a prediction
to previse
vsto look for
  • Archaic
9.9

To know something before it happens

is more about emotional anticipation than mere prediction

Antonyms

to fear
∞ 1.0

To be afraid that something bad may happen

dread
58 2.8

A strong feeling of fear or worry about something that may happen

How Expectant

eager
447 1.0
to look for
49 1.0
to anticipate
124 3.6
to expect
∞ 1.0
to wish
577 1.0

Surface Forms

look for infinitive
looked for past
looked for past participle
looking for present participle
looks for third person singular

Morphology

look + for

The verb 'look' (to search) combined with the preposition 'for' normally yields a literal 'search for' meaning that is transparently compositional; the provided sense 'to anticipate/be excited or anxious about something' is not derivable from the constituents. A B1 learner who knows 'look' and 'for' would not reliably infer 'anticipate' from this combination, and cross-linguistically anticipation is usually expressed with different verbs, so the meaning here is non-compositional.

Etymology

Look for also grew a second meaning from the image of watching and waiting: imagine standing at the door, eyes on the road, waiting for someone to arrive. Because you are literally watching and expecting them, the phrase can mean 'to expect' or 'to be excited or anxious about' something coming.