noun Common

setup

SEH-tuhp

Setup (noun) means the way something is arranged or organized, or the equipment used for a particular purpose. Example: “I love your home office setup.”

noun

The way something is arranged or organized, or the equipment used for a particular purpose.

"I love your home office setup."

"The band spent an hour on the sound setup before the show."

A scheme designed to trick or frame someone.

"He realized too late that the whole meeting was a setup."

How to use setup

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishHow something is arranged or equipped, or a trick designed to trap someone.

Common mistake

Write it as one word ("setup") for the noun, but two words ("set up") for the verb: "the setup was great" vs "set up the tent."

Common pairings

gaming setup it was a setup

Word forms

setups plural

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Fill the gap

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I love your home office _____.

Etymology

A deverbal noun formed from the phrasal verb "set up."

Synonyms

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arrangement configuration layout organization frame-up trap

Related words

system business company order form deal design organization

Frequently asked questions

What does “setup” mean?

The word “setup” means the way something is arranged or organized, or the equipment used for a particular purpose. In plain terms, how something is arranged or equipped, or a trick designed to trap someone.

How do you pronounce “setup”?

“Setup” is pronounced SEH-tuhp (/ˈsɛtʌp/ in IPA).

How do you use “setup” in a sentence?

Here is “setup” used in a sentence: “I love your home office setup.”

What part of speech is “setup”?

“Setup” is a noun.

Is “setup” a common word?

“Setup” is a fairly common word in modern English.

How many meanings does “setup” have?

“Setup” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: the way something is arranged or organized, or the equipment used for a particular purpose.

Is it setup or set up?

Setup (one word) is the noun: "the room's setup", "a recording setup". Set up (two words) is the verb: "please set up the room." A simple test — if you can put a word between set and up, as in "set it up", you need the two-word verb.

Is the hyphenated spelling set-up correct?

Yes — set-up is an accepted variant of the noun, and it remains common in British English, while American English strongly prefers the closed form setup. The verb is always written as two separate words: set up.

What is the difference between setup and configuration?

A setup is the overall way something is arranged or organized, including the equipment used, such as a home-office setup. Configuration is more technical, referring to the specific way components or settings are arranged within a system. You might describe your desk setup but your software's configuration.

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