set the bar

verb

To set specific standards or expectations.

“to set the bar high; to set the bar low”

Similar
put the bar
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Meanings

verbset the bar (third-person singular simple present sets the bar, present participle setting the bar, simple past and past participle set the bar)

present singular third person sets the bar · participle present setting the bar

  1. idiomaticTo set specific standards or expectations.

    to set the bar high; to set the bar low

    2 more examples

    She set the bar at an hour of exercise a day.

    “I do feel like we should be setting the bar higher for review,” said one adviser, Dr. Amanda Cohn, the director of the division of birth defects and infant disorders at the C.D.C., adding that more data might help clarify questions about the effects on preterm birth.

    2023 May 18, Christina Jewett, “F.D.A. Panel Recommends R.S.V. Vaccine to Protect Young Infants”, in The New York Times

    Synonyms: put the bar

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo set specific standards or expectations.

Similar
put the bar

Translations

Finnish asettaa rima
  • asettaa rimaTranslations
French placer la barre, mettre la barre
  • placer la barreTranslations
  • mettre la barreTranslations
Polish ustawiać poprzeczkę, ustawić poprzeczkę
  • ustawiać poprzeczkęTranslations
  • ustawić poprzeczkęTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

set the bar. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/set%20the%20bar

MLA

“set the bar.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/set%20the%20bar. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “set the bar,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/set%20the%20bar.

Source: set the bar on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.