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look afterto take care of or be responsible for someone or something

Part of speech: VERB

Definition: to take care of or be responsible for someone or something

Pronunciation (IPA): /lʊk ˈæftər/

Example Sentences

  • My cat thinks I'm just a servant hired to look after his royal highness.
  • Can you look after my plants while I'm on vacation? They're more dramatic than soap opera characters.
  • The nurse will look after the patients during the night shift.

look after

VERB

[/lʊk ˈæftər/]

to take care of or be responsible for someone or something

Grandma looks after the twins while their parents are at work.
💡 Concept

Grandma looks after the twins while their parents are at work.

Look after with laughter, chapter by chapter
🎵 Rhyme

Look after with laughter, chapter by chapter

Got the picture? Now let's practice.

🎤Pronunciation

🇺🇸 US/lʊk ˈæftər/
🇬🇧 UK/lʊk ˈɑːftə(r)/

🌳Etymology

Rootlook after

Origin

From Old English 'look' (to direct one's gaze) combined with 'after' (behind, following). The phrase developed from the literal sense of watching someone depart to the figurative sense of watching over or caring for someone.

Breakdown

look (to direct gaze, from Old English 'locian') + after (behind/following, from Old English 'æfter') = look after (to watch over, care for)

🎵Rhyme

afterlaughterchapter
after
laughter
chapter

🔗Collocations

look after children
look after patients
look after yourself
look after pets
look after property
look after business

📝Examples

😄 Fun example

My cat thinks I'm just a servant hired to look after his royal highness.

😄 Fun example

Can you look after my plants while I'm on vacation? They're more dramatic than soap opera characters.

The nurse will look after the patients during the night shift.

He promised to look after the family business when his father retires.

📚Related Words

Synonyms

take care ofcare fortend towatch overmind

Antonyms

neglectabandonignore

Related

babysitsuperviseprotectnurturemaintain

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