Hookup

How to spell hookup

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce hookup

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does hookup mean?

1. nounA connection or coupling between pieces of equipment, or to a supply such as power, water, or a network.

Hookup in a sentence

• The campsite charged extra for an electrical hookup at each pitch.

• The technician tested the cable hookup before broadcasting the match.

Where does hookup come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a relatively modern compound built from two very old English words. 'Hook' descends from the Old English 'hoc', meaning a bent or curved piece of metal used to catch or fasten, a word with Germanic cousins across the North Sea languages. 'Up' is likewise an ancient native adverb describing motion to a higher or connected position. The phrasal verb 'to hook up', meaning to connect or join two things together, became common in American English in the early twentieth century, especially around electrical, plumbing, and mechanical connections. From that verb the closed-up noun 'hookup' emerged, first describing a wired or piped connection and later broadening to mean any informal arrangement or, in casual modern slang, a brief social or romantic encounter. The spelling trap is simply remembering that the noun is written solid as one word, whereas the verb stays split as 'hook up'.

How the word is built

• hook (a curved fastening)
• up (adverbial particle), fused into a single noun