- set something up
- set something up†1. Lit. to put something together; to erect something. •
My parents bought me a dollhouse, but I had to set it up myself.
•It took nearly an hour to set up the tent.
2. Fig. to establish or found something. •We set up a fund to buy food for the needy.
•The business owners set a bank up in the small town.
Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.