Use LOOKUP, one of the lookup and reference functions, when you need to look in a single row or column and find a value from the same position in a second row or column. For example, let's say you know the part number for an auto part, but you don't know the price.
Here’s an overview of the functions and formulas for different types of lookups in Excel. What Is a Lookup in Excel? A lookup means searching for a specific value within a row or a column in Excel that meets specific criteria. You can look for single or multiple values within a range.
The VLOOKUP function in Excel performs a case-insensitive lookup. For example, the VLOOKUP function below looks up MIA (cell G2) in the leftmost column of the table.
The Excel LOOKUP function performs an approximate match lookup in a one-column or one-row range, and returns the corresponding value from another one-column or one-row range.
This Excel tutorial explains how to use the Excel LOOKUP function with syntax and examples. The Microsoft Excel LOOKUP function returns a value from a range (one row or one column) or from an array. There are 2 different syntaxes for the LOOKUP function:
VLOOKUP looks for the lookup value in the leftmost column of the lookup table or table array, aiming to find the matching value. That means whatever you want to return must be located somewhere to the right of the column you’re searching in.
Use the VLOOKUP function to look up a value in a table. The value you want to look up. The value you want to look up must be in the first column of the range of cells you specify in the table_array argument. Lookup_value can be a value or a reference to a cell.