Hold on

[1358] Look into (a matter)

🎲 Pass out
English Idioms
All Idioms

Explanation

  • To investigate, examine, or research something to find out more about it.

Origin

  • Combines look (to direct one's gaze or attention) with into (indicating penetration or exploration inside something).
  • The metaphor is one of looking inside a situation or problem to understand its details.

Synonyms & Related Expressions

  • Investigate
  • Examine
  • Research
  • Check (out)
  • Explore
  • Probe
  • Scrutinize

Alternatives

Slang/Informal:

  • Check out
  • Scope out (investigate, assess a situation)
  • Dig into (investigate deeply)
  • Sniff around (investigate discreetly, perhaps suspiciously)

Vulgar/Emphatic (expressing urgency or seriousness):

  • We need to look into this shit right now.

Milder/Formal:

  • Investigate
  • Examine
  • Undertake an inquiry into
  • Review

Situational Appropriateness

  • Neutral to formal.
  • Appropriate in most contexts, including professional and academic settings.

Misunderstanding Warnings

  • Unlikely to be misunderstood. Clearly means investigation.

Examples

  • The police are looking into the cause of the accident.
  • I'll look into whether we can get a discount.
  • Could you look into why the website is down?

Dialogue

Manager: Several customers have complained about slow response times from support today.

Team Lead: Really? I hadn't heard. That's concerning.

Manager: Yes, could you please look into it and see what's causing the delay?

Team Lead: Absolutely. I'll look into it right away and report back this afternoon.

Manager: Thank you.

Social Media Examples

  • Tweet: Experiencing issues with our login page. Our team is looking into it urgently! Thanks for your patience. #techsupport #update
  • Forum Post: My car is making a weird noise. Has anyone else had this issue? Going to ask the mechanic to look into it. #cartalk
  • LinkedIn Update: Following recent market changes, we are looking into new strategies for Q4. #business #strategy

Response Patterns

  • Acknowledgement/Thanks (if someone offers to look into something): Thanks, I appreciate it. / Okay, let me know what you find.
  • Agreement (if suggesting looking into something): Yes, we should definitely look into that. / Good idea.
  • Providing information (if asked to look into something): Okay, I'll start by checking...

Common Follow-up Questions/Actions

After someone agrees to look into something:

  • They perform the investigation/research.
  • They report back their findings: I looked into it, and here's what I found...

The person who requested the investigation might follow up later: Did you get a chance to look into that matter?

    Conversation Starter

    • Can be used to initiate a discussion about a problem or question. I heard about the budget cuts. We should look into how that affects our department.

    Intonation

    • Stress typically falls on LOOK and INTO, and often the matter being investigated.
    • We need to LOOK INto this PROBlem. / I'll LOOK INto IT.

    Generation Differences

    • Used by all generations.

    Regional Variations

    • Common in all major English-speaking regions.
    Hold on
    🎲 Pass out