Tool up Definition 1 of 2Pro Tip 1/3Industry Specific Used in manufacturing settings or when a company is preparing new products. Our factory is tooling up for the latest technology upgrade. Pro Tip 2/3Not Just Physical 'Tool up' can refer to gathering non-physical resources like software or skills. We're tooling up with new design software for the project. Pro Tip 3/3Preparation Phase Implies a phase of preparation before actual work or production begins. The lab is tooling up to start experiments next week.