Look around means to turn your eyes or head to see what is near you, or to explore a place for something you need. To use look around in a sentence, add the place or the goal: “She looked around the empty classroom.” The phrase is intransitive, so it never splits and takes for before a search target.
Look around at a glance
- Look around is an intransitive phrasal verb; its forms are looks around, looked around and looking around.
- It means to survey your surroundings or to explore a place for something.
- A search adds for: I looked around for my keys.
- When a place follows, around acts as a preposition, as in look around the room.
- The commonest error is splitting the phrase, as in look the room around.
What does look around mean?
Look around is a phrasal verb meaning to direct your gaze in several directions, either to take in a place or to search it for something. The Cambridge entry for look around keeps both ideas together: turning the head to see what a space contains.
| Sense | Plain meaning | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Survey | Turn the eyes to take in the surroundings | Look around before you step onto the road. |
| Search | Scan a place hoping to find something | He looked around for a spare chair. |
| Explore | Walk through a place to see what it offers | We looked around the old harbour at dusk. |
| Consider | Check the options before choosing | It pays to look around before you buy. |
Look around is weaker than search when the hunt is deliberate and thorough. A police officer searching a warehouse does not simply look around; the word would understate the effort. Use look around for a quick scan or a relaxed exploration, and reach for search or hunt when the task is focused and sustained.
How do you use look around in a sentence?
Look around rarely takes a direct object. A place follows it as a prepositional phrase, and a search target follows for, so the phrase itself stays intact.
| Pattern | Example | What it signals |
|---|---|---|
| look around (alone) | Look around and describe the scene. | A general instruction to survey. |
| look around + place | She looked around the gallery. | Around works as a preposition, not a movable particle. |
| look around for + noun | They looked around for a taxi. | Names the object of a search. |
| look around at + noun | He looked around at the faces. | Names what the eyes settle on. |
| have a look around | Have a look around the new office. | Noun form, common and informal. |
Look around in a sentence: examples across contexts
| Context | Example sentence | Why this works |
|---|---|---|
| Classroom | Look around the classroom and find one object you can describe. | Simple instruction with a place after around. |
| Shopping | We looked around three shops before choosing a sofa. | Explore sense of comparing options. |
| Travel | They looked around the market for an hour. | Relaxed exploration of a place. |
| Workplace email | Please look around for a spare laptop before you order one. | Search sense in a polite request. |
| News report | Officers looked around the wreckage for clues. | Journalistic register for a search. |
| Safety | Look around before you reverse the car. | Survey sense as a warning. |
| Academic writing | Readers who look around the archive soon spot the gap. | Figurative exploration of a body of work. |
| Conversation | I looked around but could not see anyone I knew. | Spoken survey with no object needed. |
| Home | She looked around for the cat under every chair. | Search sense with a clear goal. |
Look around vs look up
The two phrases share the verb look, but they describe different movements of attention.
| Attribute | Look around | Look up |
|---|---|---|
| Core meaning | Scan the space you are in | Raise the eyes, or check a reference |
| Object | None needed; a search adds for | A fact, word or contact follows |
| Image | Head turning through a wide scene | Eyes rising, or a page being opened |
| Typical use | Exploring a place or searching a room | Finding a definition, address or number |
| Register | Neutral, spoken and written | Neutral, very common online |
Use look around to move through a physical space, and use look up when your eyes rise or when you check a known source for a fact.
Word forms and grammar of look around
Look around sits in a large family of phrasal verbs built on around, and each member changes the meaning while the particle stays fixed.
| Form | Part of speech | Example |
|---|---|---|
| look around | intransitive phrasal verb | Look around and choose a seat. |
| looked around | past tense | He looked around the garden twice. |
| looking around | present participle | She was looking around for the exit. |
| look round | British variant | They looked round the shop together. |
| get around | phrasal verb | Visitors get around the city by tram. |
| hang around | phrasal verb | Teenagers hang around the square after school. |
| spin around | phrasal verb | The dancers spin around on the stage. |
| turn around | phrasal verb | He turned around to wave goodbye. |
Look round is the usual form in British English, and look about appears in older writing; all three mean the same as look around. The phrase is intransitive, which is why the place names follow from a preposition and never turn the two words into a splittable pair.
Common mistakes with look around
- Incorrect:
Look the room around before you leave.Correct: Look around the room before you leave. Around works as a preposition and never splits from look. - Incorrect:
I looked around my keys.Correct: I looked around for my keys. A search target needs the preposition for. - Incorrect:
She looked around to a chair.Correct: She looked around for a chair. Use for to name what you hope to find. - Incorrect:
Look around it carefully.Correct: Examine it carefully. Around acts as a preposition, so the phrase cannot take an inserted object. - Incorrect:
We did a look around at the town.Correct: We had a look around the town. The noun form takes have a look around.
Practice using look around
Answer each item, then check the reason beside your answer below.
- Fill in the blank: Before you cross, ______ around for traffic.
- Correct the error: They looked around for find the address.
- Choose the better word: The detective (looked around / searched) every drawer for the letter.
- Build a sentence: invite a visitor to explore a museum, using have a look around.
- Spot the register: which fits a news report, “Officers looked around the site” or “The cops had a nose about”?
- Fill in the blank: We had a look ______ the new library.
Answers
- look: the imperative phrase stands alone before the prepositional phrase.
- They looked around to find the address: for cannot introduce a verb, so change the clause.
- searched: a thorough hunt is stronger than the relaxed look around.
- Sample: Please have a look around the museum at your own pace.
- The news sentence: officers and site keep the formal register.
- around: the noun form keeps around before the place.
The bottom line
To use look around in a sentence, let the phrase stand alone or follow it with a place, and add for when you name the thing you hope to find. The verb is intransitive, so around never splits away from look. Remember the two shapes: look around for my keys in a search, and look around the room in a survey.
Frequently asked questions about look around
Is look around one word or two?
Look around is always written as two words because it is a phrasal verb made of a verb and a particle. Only the rare noun form is hyphenated, as in a quick look-around. In normal sentences you write look around, looked around or looking around, and never join the verb and the particle into a single word.
What is the British version of look around?
British English usually prefers look round, as in they looked round the shop. Look about also appears, mostly in older or regional writing. The three forms mean the same thing, so choose look around for American readers and look round for a British audience, while keeping the spelling of look unchanged.
Does look around need a preposition?
It needs no preposition when it stands alone, as in look around and tell me what you see. A preposition appears only to add information: around before a place, for before the thing you search for, and at before what the eyes settle on. The phrase itself stays whole in every one of those shapes.
Can look around take a direct object?
Not in the strict sense, because the verb is intransitive and around is not a movable particle. A place follows as a prepositional phrase, so you write look around the room and never look the room around. If you need a verb with a direct object, use scan or examine instead, as in scan the room.
Have you ever wondered how to better describe the scenes, people, or objects you encounter every day? Understanding spatial relationships and mastering the art of observation is key to achieving this. This skill allows you to utilize descriptive language more effectively and paint vivid imagery in the minds of your readers.
When you “look around,” you are actively observing your surroundings with a purpose. By paying attention to details such as colors, shapes, sizes, and arrangements, you can capture the essence of what you see and translate it into compelling descriptions. This skill is essential for writers, photographers, artists, and anyone aiming to convey a clear and detailed depiction of the world around them.
7 Examples Of Look Around Used In a Sentence For Kids
- Look around and see all the colorful toys!
- Let’s look around and find the red crayon.
- Can you look around and count how many chairs are in the room?
- It’s time to look around and find your friends.
- Look around to see if you can find any animals in the book.
- Look around and see how many shapes you can find.
- Let’s look around and see if we can spot any birds outside.
14 Sentences with Look Around Examples
- Look around for study groups to improve your learning experience.
- Look around for affordable food options on campus.
- Look around for bulletin boards with information on campus events.
- Look around for internship opportunities within your field of study.
- Look around for libraries or study spaces where you can focus.
- Look around for discounts at local businesses with your student ID.
- Look around for career fairs to explore job opportunities.
- Look around for clubs and organizations to join and meet new people.
- Look around for mentorship programs to guide you through your college journey.
- Look around for scholarship opportunities to help with tuition costs.
- Look around for fitness classes or sports teams to stay active.
- Look around for mental health resources and counseling services.
- Look around for group study rooms in the library.
- Look around for part-time job openings on campus.
How To Use Look Around in Sentences?
Look Around is a useful feature that allows you to explore your surroundings when using certain apps on your device. To use Look Around in a sentence, simply follow these steps:
- Open the app that supports Look Around, such as a maps app or a travel guide.
- Look for the Look Around icon or button within the app. This is usually represented by a pair of binoculars or an eye symbol.
- Tap on the Look Around icon to activate the feature.
- Once Look Around is activated, you will be able to see a 360-degree view of your current location, giving you an immersive and interactive experience.
- To navigate Look Around, swipe the screen in different directions to move the view or use your fingers to zoom in and out for a closer look.
- You can also tap on different points of interest within Look Around to learn more information about specific locations.
- To exit Look Around, simply tap the close button or icon.
- Practice using Look Around in different apps to familiarize yourself with how it works and to make the most out of this feature.
By following these steps, you can easily incorporate the phrase Look Around into your sentences when talking about exploring and discovering new places.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are many benefits to taking the time to look around and observe our surroundings. By being attentive to our environment, we can notice opportunities, gain new perspectives, and enhance our overall awareness. This simple act can lead to a deeper understanding of the world around us and enable us to make better decisions in various aspects of our lives.
Whether it’s in a physical setting or a metaphorical sense, when we actively look around, we open ourselves up to a wealth of information and experiences that can enrich our lives. So, let’s remember the value of pausing to look around, as it can offer us valuable insights, spark creativity, and help us appreciate the beauty and intricacies of the world we live in.
