phrasal verb🧩 phrasal verb

look forward to

to anticipate eagerly

What it means

To feel excited and happy about something that's going to happen in the future. It's followed by a noun or by a verb in the -ing form, never an infinitive.

Examples

  • I'm really looking forward to our holiday in Portugal next month.
  • She's looking forward to meeting her new colleagues on Monday morning.
  • We look forward to hearing from you soon — a standard email closing.
  • He doesn't look forward to going back to the office after maternity leave.

Where it comes from

Three-part inseparable phrasal verb. Crucial learner point: the 'to' here is a preposition, not part of an infinitive, so it must be followed by a noun or -ing form ('looking forward to seeing you', not 'to see you').

Related phrasal verbs

#wait for#count on#fall back on#look out

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