| 1. | having life; living; existing; not dead or lifeless. |
| 2. | living (used for emphasis): the proudest man alive. |
| 3. | in a state of action; in force or operation; active: to keep hope alive. |
| 4. | full of energy and spirit; lively: Grandmother's more alive than most of her contemporaries. |
| 5. | having the quality of life; vivid; vibrant: The room was alive with color. |
| 6. | Electricity. live 2 (def. 17). |
| 7. | alive to, alert or sensitive to; aware of: City planners are alive to the necessity of revitalizing deteriorating neighborhoods. |
| 8. | alive with, filled with living things; swarming; teeming: The room was alive with mosquitoes. |
| 9. | look alive! pay attention! move quickly!: Look alive! We haven't got all day. |
look (lŏŏk) v. looked, look·ing, looks v. intr.
look afterTo take care of: looked after his younger brother. look for
look on/uponTo regard in a certain way: looked on them as incompetents. look outTo be watchful or careful; take care: If you don't look out, you may fall on the ice. We looked out for each other on the trip. look overTo examine or inspect, often in hasty fashion: looked over the proposal before the meeting. look to Usage Problem
Idiom(s): look a gift horse in the mouth Informal To be critical or suspicious of something one has received without expense. Idiom(s): look alive/sharp Informal To act or respond quickly: Look alive! We leave in five minutes. Idiom(s): look down on/uponTo regard with contempt or condescension. Idiom(s): look down (one's) nose at/onTo regard with contempt or condescension. Idiom(s): look forward toTo think of (a future event) with pleasurable, eager anticipation: looking forward to graduation. Idiom(s): look in onTo visit: I look in on my grandparents each weekend. Idiom(s): look the other wayTo deliberately overlook something: knew the student was cheating but decided to look the other way. Idiom(s): look up toTo admire: looked up to her mother. [Middle English loken, from Old English lōcian.] Usage Note: The phrasal verb look to has recently developed the meanings "expect to" and "hope to," as in The executives look to increase sales once the economy improves or I'm looking to sell my car in July. In a recent survey, the Usage Panel was divided almost evenly on this usage, with 52 percent of the Panelists finding it acceptable and 48 percent rejecting it. Of those rejecting this usage, a small number volunteered that they would find it acceptable in informal speech, and in fact the divided response of the Panel may be due in part to the informal flavor of this phrase. |
look alive
Act lively, hurry up, as in Look alive! This job has to be finished today. This phrase, often used as an imperative, today is more common in Britain than in America. [Mid-1800s]