Looking Up is a record of the innovative research project in lexical computing which has led to the publication of the highly acclaimed Collins COBUILD English Language Dictionary. The research was undertaken by a team working in the English Department of the University of Birmingham. Using extensive computer facilities, the team spent seven years examining the patterns of use in millions of words of current English text.

Looking Up contains ten essays, each written by a senior member of the COBUILD team. These essays give the relevant background and detailed explanations of the various stages and components of the project, including corpus development, database compilation and the preparation of the dictionary text. The many editorial features which make the COBUILD dictionary so easy to use are explained in depth. Readers will appreciate the full value of COBUILD as an authoritative basis for teaching and learning today's English.

Looking Up gives language teachers and other linguists many stimulating insights into this exciting project. It clearly demonstrates how and why COBUILD offers unique help with real English.