Meaning & use
to look after
Last updated
Meanings
verbtransitive
to take care of someone or something and keep them safe and well
Grammar: Takes an object: look after someone. The object comes after 'after'.
Patterns
- look after someone
- look after something
- look after yourself
Could you look after my dog while I'm away?
She looks after her elderly mother at home.
verbtransitive
to be responsible for dealing with something or someone
Grammar: Takes an object: look after something. Often used about tasks or business.
Patterns
- look after something
- look after the details
Don't worry about the paperwork; I'll look after it.
He looks after customer complaints.
Word forms
| third person singular | looks after |
|---|---|
| past tense | looked after |
| past participle | looked after |
| -ing form | looking after |
Common combinations
- look after a child
- She looks after two children after school.
- look after a pet
- Can you look after my cat this weekend?
- look after yourself
- Take a break and look after yourself.
- look after the house
- We look after the house while they travel.
- look after someone's interests
- A lawyer looks after your interests.
Synonyms and how they differ
- take care of
- The usual American equivalent; it can also mean 'to deal with', like 'look after'.
- care for
- More formal and often used for people who are ill or very old.
- mind
- British, informal; often used for watching children or pets for a short time.
Opposites
Word family
- look after phrasal verb
- The base form; no other derived forms are common.
Commonly confused: to look after or look for? to look after or look forward to?
to look after vs look for
Means 'to try to find'. 'Look after' means 'to take care of'. They are not interchangeable.
to look after vs look forward to
Means 'to feel excited about something in the future'. 'Look after' is about care, not anticipation.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'look after' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Look after' means to take care of someone. Option B fits this meaning. Option A should be 'look for' (try to find). Option C is not natural because 'look after' is not used for watching a movie. Option D is grammatically wrong.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “to look after”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.