set up vs set-up

Both "set up" and "set-up" are correct, but they are used in different contexts. "Set up" is used as a verb phrase meaning to establish or arrange something, while "set-up" is used as a noun or adjective to describe a situation or arrangement.

Last updated: March 22, 2024 • 918 views

This is a correct verb phrase used to indicate the action of establishing or arranging something.

"set up"

Use "set up" when you want to describe the action of establishing or arranging something. It is commonly used in sentences like "We need to set up a meeting" or "She set up her own business."

Examples:

We need to set up a new system for tracking inventory.
He set up a charity to help homeless people.
She set up a tent in the backyard for the sleepover.
Let's set up a time to discuss the project.
They set up a website to promote their products.

Show examples from the web [+]

The European Anti-Fraud Office is set up.
Army hospitals were set up across the Union.
It was set up by the Consell de Mallorca.
I have set up an ecclesiastical court to decide on your majesty's annulment.
The Bank of Financing Small and Medium Enterprises (BFPME) was set up in 2005 in order to help young graduates without a business background or family connections to set up projects.
It has already set up an unofficial cross-border region - Transmanche - with Nord-Pas de Calais, but the people of the UK will not even accept attempts to set up regional governments within their own borders.
Close the highways and set up roadblocks.
Smartphones can be set up to avoid excessive Internet use.
Refugee camps were set up in Macedonia.
Contract killing that you set up.
I helped dad set up this business.
Hotch set up the profile briefing.
· decisions to set up internal control departments.
Maximum contents should be set up for astaxanthin.
A scrapping and building assistance system must be set up.
The Vice-President then set up the high-level working party.
England set up consulates in Syria and Egypt.
An employee helps set up the store.
Literacy classes are set up for adults.
MTA aliases usually require administrator privileges to set up.

Alternatives:

establish
arrange
organize
create
assemble

This is a correct term used as a noun or adjective to describe a situation or arrangement.

"set-up"

Use "set-up" when you want to describe a situation or arrangement, such as a set-up for an event or a set-up process. It is commonly used in sentences like "The set-up for the party took hours" or "We have a new set-up for our office."

Examples:

The set-up for the concert was impressive.
We need to improve the set-up of our equipment.
The new set-up in the classroom is more student-friendly.
She has a great set-up for her home office.
The set-up process is quite simple and quick.

Show examples from the web [+]

~ No point wasting the good stuff on a set-up.
Isaak will know it's a set-up.
Your pilot projects would be a very good set-up.
I'm recalling Kate Freelander to assist with the set-up.
The guys from dawes are coming down they want to look at the new set-up and all that.
For all we know, this whole thing could be a set-up.
There's one more move we could make to see if the meeting with the colonel is an FBI set-up.
I've always admired the way Mrs Levinson is never overawed by the set-up at Downton.
I think if there's any chance this is really a set-up, it could be me in that cell.
The last working group focused on the new institutional set-up.
Pretty elaborate set-up for a group mugging.
But this party tomorrow, it's a set-up.
All right, it looks like you're dealing with a military-grade set-up.
-It's rather a strange set-up.
And George was bringing a certain peace into this set-up.
It was all a set-up, a ploy.
[Scoffs] the mafia has a less-complicated set-up.
I was just the set-up man.
Something about that set-up feels very weird.
You got a pretty sweet set-up.

Alternatives:

arrangement
configuration
layout
setup
preparation

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set up vs set-up

"set up"

"set-up"

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