Lookups

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A search in a reference work or database for specific information, often relating to definitions or data points
2. The act of examining or consulting a source to find detailed information about a particular topic
3. A procedure often employed in research and learning to clarify or confirm facts by accessing relevant resources

Etymology: "Lookups" is the plural of "lookup," a noun meaning a search for information, most often in a database, index, or reference book. The noun comes from the phrasal verb "look up," meaning to consult a source or search for something in it, so the word is a deverbal formation: a noun built from that verb rather than inherited from an older noun. The plural simply adds the usual "-s," and the form is most familiar from computing, where a program may perform millions of lookups per second in a table of stored values.

Synonyms: searches, queries