Look around meaning in English
Learn how to use Look around correctly with Gymglish.
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Definition
to look around (for someone or something): to look, to search (for someone or something)
I looked around for my keys, but I couldn't find them! I searched the whole house but I can't find them anywhere.
Let's look around: Let's see the things there are to do here
To look around can also mean "to visit":
I spent the morning looking around all the museums in Paris. I visited most of them in one morning!
Examples
- "Bob : Okay Polly, I'll look around the office."
- "In the meantime, I'm going to have a look around."
- "I thought your building looked interesting, so I decided to have a look around."
- "Icarus : Oh I just thought I'd have a look around, you know, count some perfume bottles, that sort of thing."
- "Look around you!"
- "Bruno : Ma'am, would you mind if I looked around your house for a little while?"
Exercise 1
Complete the sentences below with the appropriate word or phrase:
Polly tells Bob she wants him to her keyboard immediately.
Bob tells Polly he will a keyboard.
Polly tells Bob she wants him to her keyboard immediately.
Bob tells Polly he will a keyboard.
Complete the sentences below with the appropriate word or phrase:
Polly tells Bob she wants him to substitute 1 her keyboard immediately.
Bob tells Polly he will search for 2 a keyboard.
Polly tells Bob she wants him to substitute 1 her keyboard immediately.
Bob tells Polly he will search for 2 a keyboard.
1 substitute: This is correct. Polly tells Bob "I want you to replace my keyboard immediately". In this context, "to replace" is synonymous with "to substitute".
1 repair: This is incorrect. Polly specifically tells Bob that she wants her keyboard "replaced", not "repaired" or "fixed". The two verbs are not synonymous.
1 modify: This is incorrect. Polly specifically tells Bob that she wants her keyboard "replaced", not "modified" or "altered". The two verbs are not synonymous.
1 throw out: This is incorrect. Polly specifically tells Bob that she wants her keyboard "replaced", not "thrown out" or "disposed of".
2 search for: This is the best choice here. Bob says that he will "look around" the office for a new keyboard. In this context, to look around shares a similar meaning with the verb "to search for".
2 examine: This is incorrect. Bob says that he will "look around the office". This doesn't express that he will "examine" a keyboard, but rather that Bob will try to find a keyboard. Do not confuse the phrasal verb "to look around" with "to look closely", which could be synonymous with "to examine" in a different context.
2 purchase: "To purchase" and "to look around" have very different meanings. This is not what Bob is expressing when he says he will look around for a keyboard.
2 order: "To order" is not synonymous with "to look around" in this context.
Exercise 2
Why did "Dave" enter the Delavigne Corporation offices?
Why did "Dave" enter the Delavigne Corporation offices?
This is incorrect. When Dave asks for directions to the toilets, Hannah assumes that he is the "plumber" (someone who repairs problems with water pipes). However, it soon becomes clear that Dave simply needs to use the toilet or "go to the bathroom" (as they say in America)!
This is incorrect. Dave entered the Delavigne offices because he wanted to "look around", not because he needed directions (to the bank, for example). Once in the building, however, Dave needs to visit the bathroom, therefore he asks Hannah for the directions to the toilet.
This is correct. Dave says, "I thought your building looked interesting, so I decided to have a look around." "To look around" means to visit or explore something. Example: I spent a rainy Sunday LOOKING AROUND London's art galleries.
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