Jump to:

• hook-up
  hook-up

  noun

  the contact of an aircraft in flight with the refuelling hose of a tanker aircraft
• hook up
  hook up

  Assemble or wire a mechanism, as in Dick helped us hook up the stereo system . [1920s]

hook-up

British  

noun

1. the contact of an aircraft in flight with the refuelling hose of a tanker aircraft

2. an alliance or relationship, esp an unlikely one, between people, countries, etc

3. the linking of broadcasting equipment or stations to transmit a special programme

---

verb

1. to connect (two or more people or things)

2. slang (often foll by with) to get married (to)

hook up Idioms  

1. Assemble or wire a mechanism, as in Dick helped us hook up the stereo system . [1920s]

2. Connect a mechanism with a main source, as in The computer had not yet been hooked up to the mainframe . [1920s]

3. hook up with . Form a tie or association, as in She had hooked up with the wrong crowd . [ Slang ; mid-1900s]

---

Example Sentences

“This business can be lumpy and swing depending on customer grid hook-up timing, but that does not fully explain this drop-off,” William Blair’s Jed Dorsheimer told clients in a recent note.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 6, 2026

There's your Cream of Wheat hook-up — it's sweet, it's savory, it's delicious.

From Salon • Aug. 6, 2023

She got me the whole VIP hook-up, like I could go in the rooms where nobody could go.

From New York Times • May 1, 2023

First, there is the unburned natural gas that can escape before the flame ignites or leak from a gas hook-up.

From Scientific American • Nov. 16, 2022

It probably had something to do with the horror show hook-up with Faith and the intensity of Howie’s visit, but mostly it was thanks to Pastor Ted.

From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx

Related Words

• attach
• connect
• cover
• dress
• handcuff
• restrict
• shackle
• stick
• strap
• tether
• tie up
• unite
• wrap