setup

Etymology

From set + up.

noun

1. Equipment designed for a particular purpose; an apparatus.
   The laboratory included an elaborate setup for measuring the energy.
2. The fashion in which something is organized or arranged.
   The classroom setup was simple and efficient.
   Shapiro says KYW would keep two separate news staffs that would work together, similar to WBZ's setup. 1993, Billboard, volume 105, number 21, page 106
   For some stretches, Berhalter’s usual 4-3-3 setup played more as a 4-4-2, with Tim Weah pushing up alongside Wright and McKennie moving to the right side. 25 November 2022, Jonathan Tannenwald, “U.S. dominates England for long stretches, but plays to 0-0 tie at World Cup”, in The Philadeplhia Inquirer
3. A situation orchestrated to frame someone; a covert effort to place the blame on somebody.
   Trust me, that was a setup!
4. (computing) An installer.
   You still have to run the setup and select the display driver after restarting Windows. Installing Windows NT drivers was tedious (but we could back up system files), and OS/2 was tiresome; […] 1995 August 28, InfoWorld, page 80
5. (operations) The process of arranging resources for performing a specific operation, as a run of a particular product.
   A simple setup on the bottling line involves reloading bottles and labels; emptying, cleaning, and reloading the tanks; and a test run.
6. (hydrology) The tendency of persistent wind to produce higher water levels at the downwind shore of a body of water and lower at the upwind shore.
   There was a strong wind setup at the south end of the lake after a day of northerly gales.
7. (boxing) A move or set of moves which are meant to draw out a reaction which leaves an exploitable opening in defense.
   The jab is most commonly used as a setup for other strikes.

verb

1. Misspelling of set up.