look after

phrase

Synonyms of look afternext
: to take care of
looked after her sick mother

Examples of look after in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
SeaWorld sent animal care and veterinary staff to Alaska to look after and prepare the calf for his long journey to Florida. — Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2026 My facialist commented on how much better my dark spots looked after a month of use. — Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 21 Oct. 2026 Back in September, Muna announced that McPherson, who plays guitar, synths, and sings in the band, would need to miss several tour dates to look after their mother, Harriet, who was in the terminal stages of a cancer battle. — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 20 Oct. 2026 Fox is back in Betsey Johnson looks after cohosting the brand’s Shopify pop-up launch last year and then receiving the Betsey Johnson Iconoclast Award from Johnson at the 2026 ACE Awards. — Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 14 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for look after

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of look after was in the 15th century

Rhymes for look after

See All Rhymes for look after

Browse Nearby Words

look a fright
look after
look a gift horse in the mouth
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Look after.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/look%20after. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on look after

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for look after

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All