hookup

[ hook-uhp ]

/ ˈhʊkˌʌp /

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See synonyms for hookup on Thesaurus.com

noun

an act or instance of hooking up.

an assembly and connection of parts, components, or apparatus into a circuit, network, machine, or system.

the circuit, network, machine, or system so formed.

a device or connection, as a plug, hose, or pipe, for conveying electricity, a water supply, etc., from a source to a user: Some campsites have electrical hookups for trailers.

Informal. an association, alliance, or cooperative effort: A closer hookup of Caribbean nations would be good for international trade.

Informal.

a sexual encounter without a long-term commitment: I’m over these college boys who are only interested in meaningless hookups.
a person with whom one has such an encounter: I ran into an old hookup at the club, but I pretended not to remember her.

Slang.

a supplier of illicit goods, usually drugs: My hookup is getting out of the game—can you introduce me to your guy?
access to illegal drugs: When you are trying to score on the street it is easy to see who has the hookup.

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ALL IN FAVO(U)R OF THIS BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH QUIZ

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True or false? British English and American English are only different when it comes to slang words.

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Origin of hookup

An Americanism dating back to 1900–05; noun use of verb phrase hook up

Words nearby hookup

Hooks, hook shot, hookswinging, hooktender, hook-tip, hookup, hookworm, hookworm disease, hooky, hooley, hoolie

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use hookup in a sentence

They had four maps of Tuscaloosa, a television set and radio, and a radio-telephone hookup linking them to Katzenbach and other members of the administration on the ground.
How Robert F. Kennedy Shaped His Brother's Response to Civil Rights|Patricia Sullivan|August 11, 2021|Time
Nonetheless, this can all be completed in a day, particularly at sites where the electrical and plumbing hookups are ready and waiting.
These Foldable Houses Cost $50k and Go Up in a Day|Vanessa Bates Ramirez|July 29, 2021|Singularity Hub
You can find some primitive campsites throughout the gorge, some of which are accessible by gravel roads, but they’re first come, first served only and have no water or hookups.
The Ultimate New River Gorge National Park Travel Guide|awise|July 19, 2021|Outside Online
He had little relationship experience, in fact, and he didn’t learn about hookup apps until he was a junior in college.
¡Hola Papi! works as memoir, advice column|Terri Schlichenmeyer|July 8, 2021|Washington Blade

When some of the earliest human migrants to Europe encountered Neandertals already living there around 45,000 years ago, hookups flourished.
Europe’s oldest known humans mated with Neandertals surprisingly often|Bruce Bower|April 7, 2021|Science News
JSwipe definitely gives off less of a hookup vibe than others.
My Week on Jewish Tinder|Emily Shire|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Throughout the shooting of To Russia With Love, Gonick and Vlad communicated through, of all things, the gay hookup app Grindr.
‘To Russia With Love’: Can Johnny Weir Save Russia’s Gays?|Kevin Fallon|October 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In a crucial Senate election, the NRA is running ads for a socially conservative Republican candidate on a hookup app for gay men.
A Tom Cotton Ad on Grindr?|Ben Jacobs|October 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
What might be dismissed as a foolish drunken hookup is now a felony rape.
Is the Campus Rape Crisis Overblown?|Eleanor Clift|July 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For their part, hookup apps say they are committed to promoting safe sex.
Breaking: Grindr-ing Leads to Gonorrhea|Brandy Zadrozny|June 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I want you to get on the telephone, ask for an emergency hookup with the engineers of the other companies.
Watchbird|Robert Sheckley
A new voice cut into the communications hookup, a feminine voice.
Eight Keys to Eden|Mark Irvin Clifton
Eagerly they began making adjustments—both on the electronic-brain hookup and the converter mechanism.
Tom Swift and The Visitor from Planet X|Victor Appleton
But you said you had a name, and that it indicated a Norheim-Uighar hookup.
Triplanetary|Edward Elmer Smith
The hookup would be powered by the solar battery in the hydrolung power unit, by connecting wires through the breathing tube.
Tom Swift and the Electronic Hydrolung|Victor Appleton

British Dictionary definitions for hookup

hook-up

noun

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

verb hook up (adverb)

to connect (two or more people or things)

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with hookup

hook up

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]