Set up meaning
Set up means to start a new company, group or system. It can also mean to get equipment or a place ready to use.
set somebody or something up
set up · set · setting
She set up her own design company at 25.
Set up meanings and examples
4 meanings, each with its own CEFR level. A level marked ~ is our estimate: Oxford and Cambridge give none for that meaning.
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1
Start a new company, group or system
set somebody or something up
- She set up her own design company at 25.
- The parents set up a club for children who love chess.
- Why did they set the charity up?
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2
Get equipment or a place ready to use
set something up
- Can you help me set up my new phone?
- We set the tent up before it got dark.
- The room is ready. I set it up this morning.
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3
Arrange for a meeting or event to happen
set somebody or something up
- I’ll set up a meeting with the new client.
- Could you set up a call for Thursday?
- My friends set me up on a blind date.
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4
Trick someone so that they look guilty (informal)
set somebody or something up
- I didn’t steal the money. Someone set me up!
- The police set up the drug dealer with a fake buyer.
- Do you think he was set up?
Café orders
New friends
At the airport
Slova
Use set up in real conversations
- Learn new words with picture cards
- Talk with Felix, an AI tutor, about the things you love
- Short lessons at your level, a few minutes a day
Is set up separable?
Set up is separable: set up a business, set a business up. With a pronoun, it goes in the middle: set it up, not set up it.
The noun is setup (US) or set-up (UK). It can mean the way something is arranged (a nice desk setup) or a trick to make someone look guilty (It was a setup!).
Verb tenses for set up
| Present | I set up · she sets up |
|---|---|
| Past | set up |
| Present perfect | have set up |
| -ing form | setting up |
Common mistakes with set up
What learners often say, and what to say instead.
Wrong: I bought a new printer, but I can’t set up it.
Right: I bought a new printer, but I can’t set it up.
A pronoun goes between set and up.
Wrong: He set up a company since 2019.
Right: He set up a company in 2019.
Set up happens at one time, so use in or ago, not since.
Wrong: They setted up the stage in an hour.
Right: They set up the stage in an hour.
Set does not change: set, set, set.
Synonyms and opposites of set up
Words close to it, and words that mean the opposite.
Similar
- foundformal; start a company or school: founded in 1990
- installput software or a machine in place, ready to use
- put upbuild or fix something in place, like a tent or a shelf
Opposite
- shut downclose a business or turn off a machine for good
- take downtake apart something you built, like a tent
- close downstop a business for ever
Set up quiz
Three quick questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why.
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1My uncle ___ a small bakery in our town ten years ago.
Set up means start a new business.
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2Choose the right sentence.
The pronoun goes between set and up.
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3In a film, a man shouts, “I didn’t do it! It’s a setup!” What does he mean?
A setup can be a trick to make someone look guilty.
More phrasal verbs with set
5 phrasal verbs start with set. Test yourself on all of them in a few minutes.
Set up FAQ
Questions people ask about set up.
Is it setup or set up?
The verb is two words: I’ll set up the laptop. The noun is one word in US English (setup) and often has a hyphen in UK English (set-up).
Set up vs start: what is the difference?
Set up is for organisations, systems and equipment: set up a company, set up a TV. Start is more general: start a job, start a car.
What does set someone up with someone mean?
It means arrange a date between two people you think will like each other. My sister set me up with her friend.
Use set up in real conversations
In Slova you learn new words with picture cards, then use them when you talk about the things you love. A few minutes a day, at your level.