set the scene

verb

To prepare for something by providing a background, a description, etc.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

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

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

  1. To prepare for something by providing a background, a description, etc.

    For example, in teaching the banquet scene in Macbeth, I set the scene by setting up several banquet tables

    2004, Paul Skrebels, Sieta van der Hoeven, For All Time?: Critical Issues in Teaching Shakespeare, page 43
    1 more example

    This chapter has also set the scene by reviewing the operational structure of benchmarking, as well as outlining the research materials central to this study.

    2010, David Strang, Learning by Example: Imitation and Innovation at a Global Bank

Translations

Arabic هَيَّأَ الْأَجْوَاءَ
  • هَيَّأَ الْأَجْوَاءَ (hayyaʔa l-ʔajwāʔa)Translations
Finnish luoda pohja, luoda edellytykset
  • luoda pohjaTranslations
  • luoda edellytyksetTranslations
French planter le décor
  • planter le décorTranslations
Polish szkicować, naszkicować
  • szkicowaćTranslations
  • naszkicowaćTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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