look around

Meaning

This phrasal verb means to explore a place, building, or area by walking through it and looking at what is there. In travel contexts, it is commonly used when visiting tourist spots, wandering through cities, or browsing in shops without a specific purchase in mind. It has a relaxed, casual tone.

Examples

• We arrived in Rome and spent the first afternoon just looking around the city.

  We arrived in Rome and spent the first afternoon just looking around the city.

• No thank you, I don't need any help; I'm just looking around.

  No thank you, I don't need any help; I'm just looking around.

• If you have some free time tomorrow, you should look around the local museum.

  If you have some free time tomorrow, you should look around the local museum.

• Let's look around the market and see if they have any unique souvenirs.

  Let's look around the market and see if they have any unique souvenirs.

• He loves to look around old bookstores whenever he visits a new town.

  He loves to look around old bookstores whenever he visits a new town.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I want to look around of the museum.

  ✓ I want to look around the museum.

  Do not use the preposition 'of' after 'look around' when it is followed by a location.

• ✗ We looked around at the city.

  ✓ We looked around the city.

  Using 'at' changes the meaning to staring at specific objects, whereas 'look around' means exploring the area itself.

Related Expressions

Practice

• The shop assistant asked if I needed help, but I said I was just ___ around.

  💡 Use the continuous form (-ing) of the verb.

  Show answer

  looking

• We have an hour before our train, so let's look ___ the old town.

  💡 This particle turns 'look' into a verb meaning 'explore'.

  Show answer

  around