query

[Mark Odegard]

>I hear "looking to" for "planning to" all the time. It strikes my ears as
>colloquial but standard.
>
>Joanne Despres
>Merriam-Webster

For myself, 'looking to' means 'would like to', which is not quite the same
as 'planning to'. Planning indicates a certain degree of methodical
preparation, while 'looking to' expresses only an inclination.

For actions which require little to no planning, 'looking to' and 'planning
to' can be nearly synonymous. For a major action, however, the distinction
becomes sharper: compare 'looking to move to a house' and 'planning to move
...'.
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