look forward to

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look forward to (third-person singular simple present looks forward to, present participle looking forward to, simple past and past participle looked forward to)

1. (transitive, idiomatic) To anticipate, expect, or wait for, especially with a feeling of approval or pleasure; to be excited or eager to.

   He was not looking forward to having to repair the downed power lines after the wind storm.

   • 1794 November 19, George Washington, speech, George Washington's Sixth State of the Union Address,

     When we call to mind the gracious indulgence of Heaven by which the American people became a nation; when we survey the general prosperity of our country, and look forward to the riches, power, and happiness to which it seems destined, with the deepest regret do I announce to you that during your recess some of the citizens of the United States have been found capable of insurrection.

   • 1816 June – 1817 April/May (date written), [Mary Shelley], chapter V, in Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. , volume III, London: for Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones, published 1 January 1818, →OCLC, page 106:

     I love Elizabeth and look forward to our union with delight.

   • 1895, Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest , [Act III]:

     Then a passionate celibacy is all that any of us can look forward to.

   • 1909 May 18, Gilbert Newton Lewis, Richard Chace Tolman, “The Principle of Relativity, and Non-Newtonian Mechanics”, in Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 44: 709-726:

     To such verification, however, we may look forward with reasonable confidence, for Einstein has deduced from the principle of relativity, together with the electromagnetic theory, a number of striking consequences which are remarkably self-consistent.

   • 1961 January 17, Dwight D. Eisenhower, speech, Eisenhower's farewell address,

     Now, on Friday noon, I am to become a private citizen. I am proud to do so. I look forward to it.

   • 2024 February 7, Philip Haigh, “Railway's fragile resilience”, in RAIL, number 1002, page 3:

     I look forward to seeing 3417 running under its own power on the main line, and carrying passengers too. That needs central door locking, which will be no mean feat on a 4-VEP with 60 passenger doors.

• roll on (Interjection, British, informal)