hookup
Americannoun
-
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.
-
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of hookup
An Americanism dating back to 1900–05; noun use of verb phrase hook up
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The hedge-born man conceived in a hookup under the hawthorn bushes in 17th-century Britain was the direct linguistic ancestor of today’s naked short-sellers.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026
“But the challenge that’s been identified more of lately is that last facility hookup, making sure that the facilities either have the substations, the circuits, the transformers and the time it takes to process that.”
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 2, 2024
"Getting the hookup, being proud of the food you bring in and giving meatballs to people. That's our people, and I'm happy with it."
From Salon • Mar. 27, 2024
He wrote that the group has done other research, in addition to the analysis of dating and hookup apps.
From Washington Post • Mar. 9, 2023
Pop Pop fought in World War II with the owner’s father, so they give him that good ole battle-buddy hookup.
From "Like Vanessa" by Tami Charles
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.
