hook up

Formshooks up, hooking up, hooked up

1. 1
   casual sexphrasal verbslangintransitive

   To have a casual sexual encounter with someone, usually with no intention of a lasting relationship.

   He wasn't looking for a girlfriend; he just wanted to hook up with someone after the breakup.

   She admitted she had hooked up with her ex at the wedding and regretted it the next morning.

   Note

   Its usefulness is its vagueness: it reports a casual sexual encounter without saying exactly what happened, softer than get laid and less clinical than have sex. It is intransitive and takes with, as in hooked up with her ex, and the matching noun is hook-up, or hookup.

2. 2
   phrasal verbtransitive

   To connect someone or something to a source such as a power supply or a signal.

   Technicians hooked up the stage lights to a backup generator before the storm hit.

   Doctors had to hook up the injured climber to a breathing machine as soon as he arrived.

   Similarconnect, attach, link

   Oppositedisconnect, unplug

3. 3
   join forcesphrasal verbslangintransitive

   To join forces or form an association with someone.

   After leaving the band, the guitarist hooked up with a Nashville producer for his solo record.

   Small farms in the valley hook up with local restaurants to sell their produce directly.

   Similarpartner, collaborate

   Note

   Here the slang names a working partnership, and it usually takes with: Madonna hooked up with the producer Mirwais for Music (2000). The same words also mean a casual sexual encounter, so when two people and no project are in view, readers will hear that; team up or join forces is the safe choice in formal writing.

4. 4
   wire upphrasal verbtransitive

   To fit together the components of a machine or apparatus, particularly by wiring them to one another.

   It took the crew two days to hook up the sound system for the outdoor concert.

   The students hooked up the circuit board, the sensors, and the motor to build a working robot.

   Similarconnect, assemble, install, wire

   Oppositedisconnect

5. 5
   introduce peoplephrasal verbslangtransitive

   To put one person in touch with another.

   The mentoring program hooks up first-year students with alumni in their chosen field.

   Her agent wanted to hook up the young writer with an editor who loved her first chapter.

   Similarconnect, link, match, pair

   Note

   The person being introduced is the object, and the other party follows with: the program hooks students up with alumni. A noun can sit inside the phrase or after it, but a pronoun must go inside, so it is hook me up with your editor, never hook up me. The same pattern runs through the supplying senses, where with brings in the goods instead of a person.

6. 6
   give extraphrasal verbslangidiomatictransitive

   To give someone a good deal on a purchase, or to give them something free or more than they are entitled to.

   My cousin works at the dealership, so he hooked up my parents with an employee discount.

   The baristas hook up regulars with an extra shot at no charge.

   Note

   The deal comes through a connection: a cousin at the dealership, a barista who knows you, a salesman offering friend prices. Saying someone hooked you up is thanks as much as report, and the phrase belongs to speech and texts; in a formal request, ask about a discount instead.

7. 7
   provide goodsphrasal verbslangidiomatictransitive

   To fix someone up with goods or services, often by using one's contacts.

   The hotel concierge can hook up guests with a car and driver for the day.

   A friend in the business hooked up the band with stage lights and a van for the tour.

   Similarsupply, provide, equip, furnish

   Note

   Here the person, not the goods, is the object, and the goods often go unnamed: can you hook him up for me? assumes both speakers know he still needs a ticket. When the goods are named, with brings them in, as in hooked the band up with a van. It is slang for a favor between people who know each other.

8. 8
   noun · hook-up

   Alternative form of hookup.

   The apartment comes with a cable hook-up already installed.

   Fans had waited years for the two characters' hook-up, and it lasted a single scene.

   Note

   The noun is written closed or hyphenated, and both spellings carry the same meanings: a connection, as in a cable or water hook-up, and in slang a brief sexual encounter or a sexual partner. Whichever you choose, the verb stays two words: they hooked up, but it was a hook-up.

9. 9
   illegal dealingphrasal verbslangidiomatictransitive

   To sell drugs or other contraband to someone.

   Detectives learned that the bartender had been hooking up regulars with cocaine for years.

   A guard was fired for helping a ring hook up inmates with phones and tobacco smuggled into the prison.

   Similarsupply

   Note

   Among people who buy drugs, hook me up needs nothing after it: he's been hooking me up for years names a steady dealer without naming the drug. That silence is what makes it slang and what makes it risky to borrow, since the same words in the "good deal" meaning are harmless and only the setting tells them apart.

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