set

present singular third person sets · participle present setting · dialectal participle past setten · archaic present second person singular settest · archaic past second person singular settest · present singular third person sets · archaic present singular third person setteth · participle present setting · dialectal participle past setten

1. transitiveTo put (something) down, to rest.

   Set the tray there.

   Synonyms: put, lay, set down · Antonyms: pick up

2. transitiveTo attach or affix (something) to something else, or in or upon a certain place.

   I have set my heart on running the marathon.

   1 more example

   The Lord set a mark upon Cain.

   1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 4:15

3. transitiveTo put in a specified condition or state; to cause to be.

   Every incident sets him thinking.

   1827, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Hamlet

   2 more examples

   The Lord thy God will set thee on high.

   1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Deuteronomy 28:1

   I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother.

   1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 10:35

4. transitiveTo start (a fire).

   Synonyms: light · Antonyms: extinguish, put out, quench

5. datedtransitiveTo cause to stop or stick; to obstruct; to fasten to a spot.

   to set a coach in the mud

6. transitiveTo determine or settle.

   to set the rent

7. transitiveTo adjust.

   I set the alarm at 6 a.m.

   1 more example

   I set the alarm for 6 a.m.

8. transitiveTo punch (a nail) into wood so that its head is below the surface.
9. transitiveTo arrange with dishes and cutlery, to set the table.

   Please set the table for our guests.

10. transitiveTo introduce or describe.

    I’ll tell you what happened, but first let me set the scene.

    1 more example

    An incident which happened about this time will set the characters of these two lads more fairly before the discerning reader than is in the power of the longest dissertation.

    1749, Henry Fielding, chapter II, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC

11. transitiveTo locate (a play, etc.); to assign a backdrop to, geographically or temporally.

    He says he will set his next film in France.

    1 more example

    Her debut novel is set during the U.S. Civil War.

12. transitiveTo compile, to make (a puzzle or challenge).

    This crossword was set by Araucaria.

13. transitiveTo prepare (a stage or film set).
14. transitiveTo fit (someone) up in a situation.
15. transitiveTo arrange (type).

    It was a complex page, but he set it quickly.

    Synonyms: typeset

16. transitiveTo devise and assign (work) to.

    The teacher set her students the task of drawing a foot.

17. transitiveball gamesTo direct (the ball) to a teammate for an attack.
18. intransitiveTo gel; to solidify.

    This glue sets in five minutes.

    1 more example

    This jelly sets within a few hours when refrigerated.

    Synonyms: set up, cure, jell, jell out

19. transitiveTo render stiff or solid; especially, to convert into curd; to curdle.

    to set milk for cheese

20. intransitiveOf a heavenly body, to disappear below the horizon of a planet, etc, as the latter rotates.

    The moon sets at eight o'clock tonight.

    Synonyms: go down, go west

21. transitivebridgeTo defeat a contract.
22. obsoleteTo begin to move; to go forth.

    The king is set from London, and the scene is now transported, gentles, to Southampton

    1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals)

23. transitivebiologyTo produce after pollination.

    to set seed

    1 more example

    Many fruit trees will only flower and set fruit following a cold winter.

    2012, Daniel Chamovitz, What a Plant Knows, page 155

24. intransitiveTo be fixed for growth; to strike root; to begin to germinate or form.

    In the Annapolis Valley, in spite of an irregular bloom, the fruit has set well and has, as yet, been little affected by scab.

    1906, Canada. Dept. of Agriculture. Fruit Branch, Fruit crop report

25. Midwestern USSouthern USdialectalintransitiveTo sit (be in a seated position).

    He sets in that chair all day.

    2 more examples

    Old Applegate, in the stern, just set and looked at me, and Lord James, amidship, waved both arms and kept hollering for help. I took a couple of everlasting big strokes and managed to grab hold of the skiff's rail, close to the stern.

    1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC

    And if Mrs. Garner didn't need me right there in the kitchen, I could get a chair and you and me could set out there while I did the vegetables.

    1987, Toni Morrison, Beloved, page 227

26. Midwestern USSouthern USdialectalintransitiveTo rest or lie somewhere, on something, etc.; to occupy a certain place.

    Well, we rolled up Interstate 44 Like a rocket-sled on rails. We tore up all of our swindle sheets And left 'em settin' on the scales.

    1975, “Convoy”, in C.W. McCall, Chip Davis (lyrics), Black Bear Road, performed by C. W. McCall

27. To hunt game with the aid of a setter.
28. ambitransitivehobbiesOf a dog, to indicate the position of game.

    Your dog sets well.

    1 more example

    The dog sets the bird.

29. To apply oneself; to undertake earnestly.

    If he set industriously and sincerely to perform the commands of Christ, he can have no ground of doubting but it shall prove successful to him.

    1654, H[enry] Hammond, Of Fundamentals in a Notion Referring to Practise, London: […] J[ames] Flesher for Richard Royston, […], →OCLC

30. ambitransitiveTo fit music to words.

    Set thy own songs, and sing them to thy lute.

    1709, J[ohn] Dryden, J[ohn] Oldham, “(please specify the page)”, in Mac Flecknoe: A Poem. […] With Spencer’s Ghost: Being a Satyr Concerning Poetry. […], London: […] H[enry] Hills, […], →OCLC

    1 more example

    That I might sing it (Madam) to a tune: Giue me a Note, your Ladiship can set

    c. 1590–1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]

31. ambitransitiveTo place plants or shoots in the ground; to plant.

    to set pear trees in an orchard

    2 more examples

    We saw him with eight men setting potatoes within a week of mid-summer.

    1774, John Robinson, Thomas Rispin, A Journey Through Nova-Scotia, York: C. Etherington, page 19

    At Eastertime one year, she helped him to set potatoes.

    1915, D. H. Lawrence, The Rainbow, Vintage, published 2011, page 204

32. To become fixed or rigid; to be fastened.
33. To have a certain direction of motion; to flow; to move on; to tend.

    The current sets to the north; the tide sets to the windward.

34. intransitivecountry dancingTo acknowledge a dancing partner by facing them and moving first to one side and then to the other, while they do the opposite.

    Set to partners! was the next instruction from the caller.

35. To place or fix in a setting.

    to set glass in a sash

    2 more examples

    to set a precious stone in a border of metal

    And him too rich a jewel to be set / In vulgar metal for a vulgar use.

    1681, John Dryden, The Spanish Fryar: Or, the Double Discovery. […], London: […] Richard Tonson and Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, Act IV, page 58

36. To put in order in a particular manner; to prepare.

    to set a saw

    1 more example

    to set (that is, to hone) a razor

37. To extend and bring into position; to spread.

    to set the sails of a ship

38. To give a pitch to, as a tune; to start by fixing the keynote.

    […] I ſhould be very vvilling to be his Clerk; for vvhich you knovv I am qualified, being able to read, and to ſet a Pſalm.

    1742, Henry Fielding, “Here Joseph Andrews Writ a Letter to His Sister Pamela”, in The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews, and of His Friend Mr. Abraham Adams. […], volume I, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book I, page 25

39. To reduce from a dislocated or fractured state.

    to set a broken bone

40. dialectalintransitiveTo sit or lie (easily etc.) on the stomach; to be digested in a certain manner.

    If you also knew how to combine foods—that is, what foods eaten together “set well,” you need never have indigestion, constipation or any of the headachy, stomachachy ills they lead to.

    1917 February 12, “If You Knew What Foods?” (advertisement), in The Independent, volume 59, number 3558, New York: Independent Corporation, page 280

41. businessTo lower into place and fix solidly, as the blocks of cut stone in a structure.
42. obsoleteTo wager in gambling; to risk.

    I have set my life upon a cast, / And I will stand the hazard of the die.

    c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iv]

43. To adorn with something infixed or affixed; to stud; to variegate with objects placed here and there.

    pastoral dales thin set with modern farms

    1815, William Wordsworth, Poems of the Imagination

    1 more example

    High on their heads, with jewels richly set, / Each lady wore a radiant coronet.

    1700, [John] Dryden, “The Flower and the Leaf: Or, The Lady in the Arbour. A Vision.”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC

44. obsoleteTo value; to rate; used with at.

    I do not set my life at a pin's fee.

    c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv]

    1 more example

    Be you contented, wearing now the garland, / To have a son set your decrees at naught.

    c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]. Epilogue.”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]

45. To establish as a rule; to furnish; to prescribe; to assign.

    to set a good example

46. ScotlandTo suit; to become.

    It sets him ill.

47. To cause (a domestic fowl) to sit on eggs to brood.

    To set a hen.

48. To arrange the casting of a movie.

    Paramount Pictures has set Jennifer Love Hewitt for a movie called Two Can Play This Game.

plural sets

1. A punch for setting nails in wood.

   nail set

2. A device for receiving broadcast radio waves (or, more recently, broadcast data); a radio or television.

   television set

   1 more example

   Say, you can watch 60 Minutes / Even Captain Kangaroo / But there's only one set, so whatever you watch / Well, you know I gotta watch it too

   1984, "Weird Al" Yankovic, “The Brady Bunch”, in "Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D

3. alternativeAlternative form of sett (“a hole made and lived in by a badger”).
4. alternativeAlternative form of sett (“pattern of threads and yarns”).
5. alternativeAlternative form of sett (“piece of quarried stone”).
6. agricultureA small tuber or bulb used instead of seed, particularly onion sets and potato sets.
7. The amount by which the teeth of a saw protrude to the side in order to create the kerf.
8. engineeringA permanent change of shape caused by excessive strain, as from compression, tension, bending, twisting, etc.

   the set of a spring

   1 more example

   The wings were bent or set permanently 2 to 3 inches upward at the wingtips; however, the set was within the manufacturer's allowable tolerances.

   1986 March 29, National Transportation Safety Board, “1.12 Wreckage and Impact Information”, in Aircraft Accident Report: China Airlines Boeing 747-SP, N4522V, 300 Nautical Miles Northwest of San Francisco, California, February 19, 1985, archived from the original on 10 Jul 2022, page 12

9. A bias of mind; an attitude or pattern of behaviour.
10. businessA piece placed temporarily upon the head of a pile when the latter cannot otherwise be reached by the weight, or hammer.
11. datedmediaThe width of the body of a type.
12. A young oyster when first attached.
13. Collectively, the crop of young oysters in any locality.
14. A series or group of something. (Note the similar meaning in Etymology 4, Noun)
15. colloquialThe manner, state, or quality of setting or fitting; fit.

    the set of a coat

    2 more examples

    Mr. Joolby lay on the floor beside his special chair, his face doubly terrible in its rigid set, his body writhing this way and that with spasmodic jerks and contortions.

    1934, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], The Bravo of London

    So much of our culture, hidden by necessity for so long, involves subtle codes and signals: the set of her shoulders, the sway of his hips.

    1984 December 29, Amy Hoffman, “Dyke Detectives Solve Murder Mysteries”, in Gay Community News, volume 12, number 25, page 7

16. The pattern of a tartan, etc.
17. The camber of a curved roofing tile.
18. The full number of eggs set under a hen.
19. obsoleterareThat which is staked; a wager; hence, a gambling game.

    That was but civil war, an equal set.

    1687, [John Dryden], “(please specify the page number)”, in The Hind and the Panther. A Poem, in Three Parts, 2nd edition, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC

    2 more examples

    We will in France, by God's grace, play a set / Shall strike his father's crown into the hazard.

    1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]

    Thenceforth the Dowager, with a light and careless humour, often recounted to her particular acquaintance how, after a hard trial, she had found it impossible to know those people who belonged to Henry’s wife, and who had made that desperate set to catch him.

    1855 December – 1857 June, Charles Dickens, Little Dorrit, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1857, →OCLC

20. A tool for dressing forged iron.

comparative more set · superlative most set

1. Fixed in position.

   1 more example

   Irregular bedtimes may disrupt healthy brain development in young children, according to a study of intelligence and sleeping habits. ¶ Going to bed at a different time each night affected girls more than boys, but both fared worse on mental tasks than children who had a set bedtime, researchers found.

   2013 July 19, Ian Sample, “Irregular bedtimes may affect children's brains”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 34

2. Rigid, solidified.
3. Ready, prepared.

   on your marks, get set, go!; on your marks, set, go!

4. Intent, determined (to do something).

   set on getting to his destination

   1 more example

   And she likes you so much, and thinks you so accomplished and distingué-looking, and was just as set as I was to have you for best man.

   1892, Robert Louis Stevenson, Lloyd Osbourne, “In which Jim and I Take Different Ways”, in The Wrecker, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, […], →OCLC, page 179

   Synonyms: determined, intent

5. Prearranged.

   a set menu

   a meal that is instituted by a restaurateur for a limited occasion

   2 more examples

   a set book

   a required reading for a course in an educational institution

   The second level of reading we will call Inspectional Reading. It is characterized by its special emphasis on time. When reading at this level, the student is allowed a set time to complete an assigned amount of reading. He might be allowed fifteen minutes to read this book, for instance—or even a book twice as long.

   1972, Mortimer J. Adler, Charles Van Doren, How to Read a Book, Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 18

   Synonyms: dictated, prearranged, predetermined, prescribed, specified

6. Fixed in one’s opinion.

   I’m set against the idea of smacking children to punish them.

   Synonyms: fixed, rigid

7. Fixed in a certain style.

plural sets

1. A young plant fit for setting out; a slip; shoot.
2. A rudimentary fruit.
3. The setting of the sun or other luminary; (by extension) the close of the day.

   The weary sun hath made a golden set.

   c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iii]

   1 more example

   And a rose-bush leans upon, / Thou that faintly smilest still, / As a Naiad in a well, / Looking at the set of day, […]

   1842, Alfred Tennyson, “Adeline”, in Poems. […], volume I, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 41

   Synonyms: dusk, eve, evening, sundown, sunset

4. figurativelyliterallyGeneral movement; direction; drift; tendency.

   He put his eye to the alidade. “I thought so! Zero five four and that's allowing nothing for set and drift along the line of bearing. We're inside the departure point now[…]”

   1951, Herman Wouk, The Caine Mutiny, page 238

   1 more example

   Here and there, amongst individuals alive to the particular evils of the age, and watching the very set of the current, there may have been even a more systematic counteraction applied to the mischief.

   1840, Thomas De Quincey, Style

   Synonyms: direction, drift, heading, motion, movement, path, tendency, trend

5. A matching collection of similar things. (Note the similar meaning in Etymology 2, Noun.)

   a set of tables

   Synonyms: suite, block

6. A collection of various objects for a particular purpose.

   a set of tools

7. An object made up of several parts.

   a set of steps

8. mathematicsA collection of zero or more objects, possibly infinite in size, and disregarding any order or repetition of the objects which may be contained within it.
9. informalplural"sets"mathematicsSet theory.
10. A group of people, usually meeting socially or connected through some shared interest, activity, attribute, etc.

    the country set

    3 more examples

    That he took perfumed baths is a truth; and he used to say that he took them after meeting certain men of a very low set in hall.

    1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter XIX, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC

    “Good gracious, child, you didn't join the Theosophists and kiss Buddha's big toe, did you ? I tried to get into their set once, but they cast me out for a sceptic — without a chance of improving my poor little mind, too.”

    1889, Rudyard Kipling, “The Education of Otis Yeere”, in Under the Deodars, Boston: The Greenock Press, published 1899, page 21

    They were very private people, though they did have their circle of friends at Bilignin. They had little or no association with the Natalie Barney set, in their eyes much too frivolous.

    1984 December 29, H. W. Seng, “Alice, Gertrude and Sammy Dearest”, in Gay Community News, volume 12, number 25, page 13

    Synonyms: club, coterie

11. The scenery for a film or play.

    Synonyms: scenery

12. The general locations and area where a movie’s, a film’s, or a video’s scenery is arranged to be filmed also including places for actors, assorted crew, director, producers which are typically not filmed.
13. danceThe initial or basic formation of dancers.
14. exerciseA group of repetitions of a single exercise performed one after the other without rest.

    Meronym: reps

    2 more examples

    This is the fourth set of benchpresses.

    1974, Charles Gaines, George Butler, Pumping Iron: The Art and Sport of Bodybuilding, page 22

    The old practitioners we sometimes still see, though in far fewer numbers: still working out too hard, a lost expression on their faces as they rest between sets, as if unable to snap out of the broken promise.

    1986, Paul Reed, “Serenity”, in Eric E. Rofes, editor, Gay Life: Leisure, Love, and Living for the Contemporary Gay Male, page 11

15. hobbiesA complete series of games, forming part of a match.
16. ball gamesA complete series of points, forming part of a match.
17. ball gamesThe act of directing the ball to a teammate for an attack.
18. entertainmentA musical performance by a band, disc jockey, etc., consisting of several musical pieces.

    You heard “oh, Jeremy Corbyn” everywhere: at the silent disco, during Radiohead’s Friday night headlining set, midway through the Other stage appearance by rapper Stormzy, who gamely joined in.

    2017 June 26, Alexis Petridis, “Glastonbury 2017 verdict: Radiohead, Foo Fighters, Lorde, Stormzy and more”, in the Guardian

    Synonyms: gig, session

19. entertainmentA drum kit, a drum set.

    He plays the set on Saturdays.

    Synonyms: drums, drum kit, drum set

20. UKeducationA class group in a subject where pupils are divided by ability.

    Looking at pupil attainment, the study found that students with the same Key Stage 3 scores could have their GCSE grade raised or lowered by up to half a grade as a result of being placed in a higher or lower set.

    2012 April 26, “Themes: Pupil grouping and organisation of classes”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), Department for Education, archived from the original on 14 Jun 2012

21. slangcard gamesThree of a kind, especially if two cards are in one's hand and the third is on the board. Compare trips (“three of a kind, especially with two cards on the board and one in one's hand”).

    Synonyms: three of a kind

present singular third person sets · participle present setting · participle past setted · past setted

1. UKeducationTo divide a class group in a subject according to ability.

   At Amber Hill, setting was a high-profile concept, and the students were frequently reminded of the set to which they belonged.

   2002, Jo Boaler, Experiencing School Mathematics: Traditional and Reform Approaches and Their Impact on Student Learning

   2 more examples

   In setted classes, students are brought together because they are believed to be of similar 'ability'. Yet, setted lessons are often conducted as though students are not only similar, but identical—in terms of ability, preferred learning style and pace of working.

   2008, Patricia Murphy, Robert McCormick, Knowledge and Practice: Representations and Identities

   Imagine a country where children do nothing but play until they start compulsory schooling at age seven. Then, without exception, they attend comprehensives until the age of 16. Charging school fees is illegal, and so is sorting pupils into ability groups by streaming or setting.

   2013 July 19, Peter Wilby, “Finland spreads word on schools”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 30

alternative Seth · alternative Sutekh

1. Egyptianhuman sciencesAn ancient Egyptian god, variously described as the god of chaos, the god of thunder and storms, or the god of destruction.

   Synonyms: Bab, Baba

1. uncountableGene for a human protein involved in apoptosis, transcription and nucleosome assembly.
2. abbreviationinitialismuncountableInitialism of Simulated Emergency Test, an amateur radio training exercise.

1. abbreviationinitialismInitialism of Strategic Energy Technologies Plan of the European Union.
2. abbreviationinitialismInitialism of Stock Exchange of Thailand, the national stock exchange of Thailand.