the contact of an aircraft in flight with the refuelling hose of a tanker aircraft
an alliance or relationship, esp an unlikely one, between people, countries, etc
the linking of broadcasting equipment or stations to transmit a special programme
to connect (two or more people or things)
slang (often foll by with) to get married (to)
Assemble or wire a mechanism, as in Dick helped us hook up the stereo system . [1920s]
Connect a mechanism with a main source, as in The computer had not yet been hooked up to the mainframe . [1920s]
hook up with . Form a tie or association, as in She had hooked up with the wrong crowd . [ Slang ; mid-1900s]
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She argues the faster we hook up a bigger supply of clean energy to the grid, the better.
From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026
By overseeing how data centers hook up to the grid, federal regulators could make it easier and faster for data centers to construct their own power supply, administration officials have argued.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 27, 2025
Speaking of Mariska, fans seem to be clamoring more than ever for Benson and Stabler to hook up.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 25, 2025
I got one good hook up there in the mountain up on that cliff, and I'm still climbing.
From BBC • May 20, 2024
People would bring their state-of-the-art reel-to-reel tape recorders and hook up speakers.
From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
