look here
- idiom
- Informal
- Now look here, you're downright rude to that boy.
- Now, look here
- Look here, he said
- Hey, look here
It was more about, hey, look, here is what I have on my plate now.
- It was more about, hey, look, here is what I have on my plate now.
- And if I ever have a prop, they say look here bro, we love you.
- So if you're wondering why people think he's a nut, look here.
- Anyway, So I said, look, here's the deal.
- Well, I tell you, look here.
- But anyways, he look here, everyone, look here, James, he's just a kid.
Examples
-
"Now, look here, Bud," the Commander said.
Fiction book (2001) -
Well, look here, it's the Golden Rule.
Fiction book (2001) -
Scott, look here for a moment.
-
And look here, this is somebody drinking some beer.
-
Look here, I put you in the way of a good thing.
-
"Look here," Benny pointed out.
Academic text (2006) -
Now look here lady, you told me yourself that this took place way out at Oak Meadows.
-
Now, look here, Vicky.
-
"Look here, Fraulein Nordbo, may I suggest we become better acquainted?
Fiction book (2001) -
Now, look here, if you're really sure about this young woman, call her back in.
Synonyms
To say something new or surprising to get someone's attention
You say it to get someone to look at something you see
People say this to get someone's attention or introduce a statement, often showing annoyance
A short word people say to get attention to something surprising or important
Tell someone to pay attention to what you say or point out
Antonyms
How Forceful
- Informal
- Informal
- Informal
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'used to attract attention or emphasize what one is about to say' is directly inferable from combining 'look' (direct your eyes) with 'here' (at this place/now); the phrase functions as an attention-getter or emphatic prompt in a predictable way. This is a common cross-linguistic discourse device, so an average B1 learner who knows both words will readily understand its pragmatic meaning.
Etymology
The phrase look here comes from the simple action of asking someone to look at a place here, like pointing to get their eyes on something. That's why saying look here is used to grab someone's 'attention' or to stress a point when you are criticizing or speaking urgently.