phrasal verb / idiom · informal
look up and down
/lʊk ʌp ənd daʊn/LOOK up and DOWN
speaking
to stare at someone from head to toe, usually to examine or judge their appearance
Examples
“The landlord looked us up and down before deciding to rent the flat.”
“She glanced at the outfit and looked me up and down.”
“Don't let people look you up and down and judge you — be confident.”
Band 8 sentence
“When the new student arrived, a few classmates looked him up and down before inviting him to sit with them.”
Collocations
- look someone up and down
- look him up and down before saying anything
Word family
look verb
Common mistakes
He looked me up-down.→He looked me up and down.
She looked up and down me.→She looked me up and down.
Say it for a higher band
5stare→6scan→7+look up and down
Synonyms
scan someone
Easily confused
stare
“He stared at the painting for a long time.”
Related words
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In look …
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