set up
adj1
In a position to function; ready.
- Now that I'm set up, this will take moments!
- Related terms
- setup
set up
verb/ˌsɛt ˈʌp/
20 senses
- 1To make ready for use.
- 2To arrange logically.
- 3To cause to happen.
- 4To trap or ensnare.
- 5To arrange for an outcome; to tamper or rig.
- 6To prepare or get ready.
- 7To gel or harden.
- 8To level to rise in one part of a body of water…
- 9To provide the money or other support that someone needs…
- 10To establish someone in a business or position.
- 11To trick or lure (someone) in order to entrap them.
- 12To make (someone) proud or conceited (often in passive).
- 13To matchmake; to arrange a date between two people.
- 14To create a goalscoring opportunity (for).
- 15To begin business or a scheme of life.
- 16To profess openly; to make pretensions.
- 17To found; to start (a business, scheme)
- 18To deceive an opponent and capitalize on their reactions…
- 19To cause to take flight; to flush into the air.
- 20Synonym of compose (To arrange (types) in a composing…
1
To make ready for use.
- We set up the sprinkler.
2
To arrange logically.
- Set up my CD collection.
3
To cause to happen.
- Even a minor change can set up new bugs.
- England's famous victory sets up a meeting with Sweden in Samara on Saturday2018 July 3, Phil McNulty, “Colombia 1 - 1 England”, in BBC Sport:
4
To trap or ensnare.
- I've got to set up that tasty rabbit.
5
To arrange for an outcome; to tamper or rig.
- The election was set up!
6
To prepare or get ready.
- Used with an implied object obvious from context.
- Give me a minute — I'm still setting up.
1 more example
- The band is setting up.
7
To gel or harden.
- Give the cement 24 hours to set up before walking on it.
8
To level to rise in one part of a body of water, especially a shallow one, because of a storm surge caused by persistent wind.
- The level set up at the south end of the lake after a day of north winds.
9
To provide the money or other support that someone needs for an important task or activity.
- Winning the lottery has set them up for life.
- A good breakfast really sets you up for the day.
1 more example
- If you ever need anything, come back here, and I'll set you up!1995, HAL Laboratory, EarthBound, Nintendo, Super Nintendo Entertainment System:
10
To establish someone in a business or position.
- After he left college, his father set him up in the family business.
- She set herself up as an interior designer.
11
Criminology, Human sciences, Law, Sciences Informal To trick or lure (someone) in order to entrap them.
- They claimed that they weren't selling drugs, but that they'd been set up by the police.
12
To make (someone) proud or conceited (often in passive).
- M. Robespierre looked at me sideways and smiled and said to Madame, ‘You're a young lady after my own heart.’ This set her up for the day.1992, Hilary Mantel, A Place of Greater Safety, Harper Perennial, published 2007, pages 286–7:
13
To matchmake; to arrange a date between two people.
14
Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports To create a goalscoring opportunity (for).
- Just past the hour Agbonlahor set up the second, crossing for Bent to net.2011 October 1, John Sinnott, “Aston Villa 2 - 0 Wigan”, in BBC Sport:
- On 71.05, Portu brilliantly set up Yangel Herrera, only for Marc-André ter Stegen to make a sensational save.2024 May 6, Sid Lowe, “Portu’s brilliant burst seals Girona’s top-four fairytale in the perfect way”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
15
Dated To begin business or a scheme of life.
- to set up in trade; to set up for oneself
16
To profess openly; to make pretensions.
- 1744 (first printed) Jonathan Swift, On the Testimony of Conscience those men who set up for morality without regard to religion, are generally virtuous but in part
17
To found; to start (a business, scheme)
- With the help of his wife Bilquis, he set up a maternal health clinic and a centre for abandoned children.2017 April 6, Samira Shackle, “On the frontline with Karachi’s ambulance drivers”, in the Guardian:
18
Boxing, Government, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Martial arts, Military, Politics, Sports, War To deceive an opponent and capitalize on their reactions with a certain technique or maneuver.
- When you make an opening you merely cause an opponent to uncover a target somewhere on his person. But when you set up an opponent, you knock him off balance with one punch so that he should be an open target for a following punch. Unless he's knocked off balance, he's not set up.1950, Jack Dempsey, chapter 23, in Championship Fighting: Explosive Punching and Aggressive Defense:
- Writer Danny Wamboldt of Ring magazine said, "Only Willie knew how to set up his opponents masterfully and then move in." Wamboldt, a former New England bantamweight champion and current national president of the Veteran Boxers Association, said that one of Pep's opponents said of his dazzling speed: "It was the first time he had been surrounded by one man."1997 September 24, Joe Duffy, “TRIBUTES TO THE MAN AND THE BOXER”, in Hartford Courant:
19
To cause to take flight; to flush into the air.
- Edmund had enjoyed a good gallop over the downs, setting up the sandpipers[.]1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 27:
20
Media, Printing, Publishing Obsolete Synonym of compose (To arrange (types) in a composing stick for printing; to typeset)