At one point or another many of us have heard our parents ask us, “Did you guys hook up in the end?” causing us to squirm in our seats and find the generation gap too large to continue the conversation.

To them “hook up” simply means to meet up or hang out. But, mom and dad, times have changed. Over the years the world has been tainted, and so has the imprecision of the phrase. Things are not that simple anymore.

According to a 2003 study published in the Journal for Sex Research, 78 percent of college-aged women and men had “hooked up” at least once. Almost half of the men and a third of the women polled indicated that they had engaged in sexual intercourse during the hookup.

But if not all engaged in sex, then what does the term “hookup” really mean?

In a 2001 study by The Institute for American Values entitled “Hooking Up, Hanging Out and Hoping for Mr. Right,” researchers interviewed women across the country to see what they thought the phrase “hookup” implied.

The answers they received were a range of sexual activities varying from passionate kissing to sex, but the commonality between them all was that commitment was never an option.

The study found that men and women go out to bars, meet someone and without any communication end up together, which they termed “hooking up.” According to the report, the ambiguity of the phrase and the lack of expectation for the future are what lure people into the idea of casual sex.

According to Urban Dictionary, a source where you can find the definition of any slang term, the term “hookup” is intentionally ambiguous. It can be any sort of sexual activity, from making out to sexual intercourse. This vagueness allows for people, or rumors, to minimize or exaggerate their actions.

Ariella Grossman, an undeclared freshman, explains the ambiguity of the word.

“’Hookup’ is very vague and can mean different things to different people,” Grossman said. “I think it means kiss while my best friend thinks it means sex. The phrase honestly causes so much unnecessary drama because its definition is so unclear.”

She is not alone in this ambiguity.

Ruby Chirackal, a junior management major, approached the topic hesitantly.

“I don’t like to use the phrase often, but when I hear the term I assume something more than a kiss, but less than sex,” Chirackal said. “I am not so sure.”

Although some acknowledge that the term “hookup” has very confusing implications, some have their minds made up.

Shmuel Bushwick, a senior political science major, explains the difference in his own mind throughout his college experience.

“Before college when I heard the term hookup, I automatically assumed sex. Here, however, everyone means make out,” Bushwick said.

Aly Bernero, a sophomore human development major, explains that she uses the haziness of the phrase to her benefit.

“I would never use the phrase ‘hookup’ to mean sex; if I used the phrase my friends would have to figure out themselves what happened,” Bernero said.

The word “hookup” is commonly used and assumptions are so often made, but when put on the spot to answer what the uncertainty specifies, it’s nearly impossible. Everyone thinks something else; no two definitions are the same. The confusion and complexities that “hooking up” entails are not as easily described as we all like to think.