Link up in a sentence means to join two people, groups or systems, or to meet someone. The phrasal verb can be literal, as when two roads link up at a junction, or figurative, as when two charities link up for a campaign. A plain example is “The two teams linked up for the project.”
Link up at a glance
- Link up is a phrasal verb meaning to join or to meet.
- The particle up binds tightly to link when a person or group follows: link up with someone.
- With equipment the verb is separable: link the printer up.
- Its forms are links up, linked up and linking up.
- The hyphenated link-up is a noun, as in a link-up between two schools.
- The commonest error is confusing link up with hook up, which often carries a romantic or casual sense.
What does link up mean?
Link up is a phrasal verb with two main senses: to connect two things, and to meet or join with someone. The Cambridge entry for link up records both uses. In the first, systems, networks or routes come together; in the second, people arrange to meet. The verb is neutral in register, appearing in news, technical writing and everyday speech, and it overlaps with the plain verb connect when the subject is a machine.
| Sense | Plain meaning | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Connect | Two things join into one | The two rail lines link up at Crewe. |
| Meet or join | People come together by arrangement | We linked up after the match. |
| Establish a connection | Devices or networks connect | The phone linked up to the speaker. |
One limitation is worth stating. Link up is not a synonym for link in every case: link can take a direct object for two things at once, as in link the accounts, while link up usually needs with or a plural subject. For a romantic meeting, hook up is more common and carries a different tone.
How do you use link up in a sentence?
The verb is intransitive when the things themselves are the subject, and separable only when a tool joins two objects. Five patterns cover the realistic uses.
| Pattern | Example | What it signals |
|---|---|---|
| plural subject + link up | The charities linked up to share costs. | Two equal parties join. |
| link up + with + person or group | She linked up with an old colleague. | Names the second party. |
| link + object + up + to + thing | The engineer linked the sensors up to the hub. | Separable; a tool joins two things. |
| be linked up | The classrooms are linked up by video. | Passive; the connection is the focus. |
| plural subject + link up + place | The two trails link up near the lake. | The place where things meet. |
With people, up stays with link: link up with someone, never link with up someone. With equipment, a noun object may sit between verb and particle, so link the printer up and link up the printer are both fine; a pronoun must sit between them, as in link it up.
Link up in a sentence: examples across contexts
The verb moves easily from sport to engineering without changing shape. A network can also be said to merge when two systems become one, and people who work side by side may associate for years before they formally link up. Twelve sentences show the range.
| Context | Example sentence | Why this works |
|---|---|---|
| News report | The two hospitals linked up to share scarce equipment. | Names two institutions and a shared aim. |
| Technical writing | The sensor links up to the network within seconds. | Present tense states a routine capability. |
| Workplace email | Let us link up on Friday to agree the plan. | Informal but professional meeting request. |
| Conversation | We linked up outside the cinema at eight. | Everyday meeting sense, with a time. |
| Sports report | The striker and winger linked up for the winning goal. | Two players combining is a fixed phrase in sport. |
| Travel writing | Two old trade routes link up at the mountain pass. | A physical meeting point of routes. |
| Military history | The two regiments linked up at the river. | Standard use for forces joining. |
| Academic prose | The studies link up through a shared method. | A figurative connection between ideas. |
| Business feature | The start-ups linked up to bid for the contract. | Alliance sense, common in business news. |
| Computing | The laptop linked up with the printer over wi-fi. | Devices establishing a connection. |
| Charity appeal | Volunteers linked up across three towns. | People joining a common effort. |
| Children’s writing | The two puzzle pieces link up to make a star. | A concrete, visual sense for young readers. |
Note that only a machine or a puzzle can be linked with a direct object; the human sense always uses with. Two groups that combine closely may also combine, which stresses the single result more than the joint action.
Link up vs hook up and link
Link up, hook up and link are close enough to be confused, but they differ in formality and in what they imply. People who form one group may unite; when they split apart again, they separate.
| Attribute | link up | hook up | link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core meaning | Join or meet | Meet casually, often romantically | Connect two things |
| Transitivity | Usually intransitive | Intransitive | Transitive |
| Object | Takes with, not a direct object | Takes with | Takes a direct object |
| Register | Neutral | Informal, slangy | Neutral to technical |
| Tone | Businesslike or plain | Casual, sometimes romantic | Precise |
| Typical sentence | The teams linked up in March. | They hooked up at the festival. | Link the two accounts. |
Verdict: choose link up to join groups or meet colleagues, link when you connect two named things, and hook up only in informal speech, where it can suggest romance.
Link up in the news and at work
News reports favour link up because it describes an alliance without claiming a full merger. A hospital that links up with a charity keeps its own name, while one that merges with another may cease to exist. The same logic holds at work: colleagues link up on a single project, then return to their own teams. This provisional, cooperative flavour separates link up from combine and merge, and it explains why the verb dominates coverage of partnerships.
| Situation | Natural choice | What it implies |
|---|---|---|
| Two teams share a project | The teams linked up | Cooperation that can end |
| Two firms become one | The firms merged | A permanent single entity |
| Colleagues arrange a call | We linked up by video | A short, practical meeting |
Word forms and grammar of link up
Link up inflects like a regular verb, and the hyphen appears only in the derived noun and adjective. Phrasal verbs with up behave differently: add up takes an object, while link up does not.
| Form | Part of speech | Example |
|---|---|---|
| link up | phrasal verb, base form | The units link up at dawn. |
| links up | phrasal verb, third person singular | The app links up with the calendar. |
| linked up | phrasal verb, past and past participle | The firms linked up last year. |
| linking up | phrasal verb, present participle | Linking up early saved time. |
| link-up | noun, hyphenated | The link-up between the schools grew. |
| linked-up | adjective, hyphenated | A linked-up network of clinics. |
Common mistakes with link up
- Incorrect:
The manager linked up the two teams.Correct: The manager linked the two teams, or the two teams linked up. Rule: Link up is intransitive; to join two named things, use link. - Incorrect:
She linked up him at the station.Correct: She linked up with him at the station. Rule: The meeting sense needs with, and a pronoun cannot follow link up directly. - Incorrect:
We made a link up at the cafe.Correct: We linked up at the cafe. Rule: The verb is two words; only the noun link-up is hyphenated. - Incorrect:
The two pipes link up together.Correct: The two pipes link up. Rule: Link up already contains the idea of together, so together is redundant. - Incorrect:
He linked the printer up it.Correct: He linked the printer up to it. Rule: A connected device needs a to phrase after the particle.
Practice using link up
Work through the seven items, then check the reasoning rather than only the answer.
- Fill the gap: The two charities ______ to run a single winter shelter.
- Choose the better word: Please (link up / link) the two spreadsheets into one file.
- Correct the error: We linked up him after the lecture.
- Build a sentence: use link up with about meeting a former colleague.
- Spot the register: which belongs in a work email — shall we hook up later, or shall we link up later?
- Rewrite with a noun: The two schools joined forces last term. Use link-up.
- Choose the particle: The printer will not (link up / link with) the laptop — pick the correct form for two named devices.
Answers
- linked up — two equal parties join, so the plural subject takes link up.
- link — the two spreadsheets are named objects, so the transitive link is needed.
- We linked up with him after the lecture — the human sense needs with.
- Model answer: I hope to link up with a former colleague at the conference.
- Shall we link up later — a work email avoids the slangy hook up.
- Model answer: The link-up between the two schools lasted a term.
- Link with the laptop — two named devices take link plus a direct object.
The bottom line
Use link up in a sentence when two parties join or when people meet, and keep with before any person or group. Two nuances decide most sentences: the human sense is intransitive and never takes a direct object, while equipment can be linked up with the object between the verb and the particle. For the informal or romantic meeting, hook up is the word people actually choose.
Frequently asked questions about link up
Is link up one word or two?
The verb is always two words: link up. The hyphenated link-up is a noun, as in a link-up between the two clinics, and the adjective linked-up is also hyphenated. Keep the verb open and reserve the hyphen for the derived noun and adjective.
Is link up formal or informal?
Link up sits in the middle: it is informal enough for a colleague’s email but common in news reports about alliances between hospitals, firms or armies. It is not slang, so it fits both a technical note and a friendly message, unlike hook up.
Does link up mean the same as meet up?
They overlap when people arrange to meet, but link up also means to connect systems or groups, which meet up never does. Two rail lines can link up, but two friends meet up. Choose link up when the idea of joining matters as much as the meeting.
Can link up be separated?
Only when equipment is involved and the object is a noun: link the printer up is correct. A pronoun goes between the halves, so link it up, never link up it. With people or groups the particle stays fixed, as in link up with a colleague.
