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- Dictionaryset/sɛt/
verb
- 1. put, lay, or stand (something) in a specified place or position: "Delaney set the mug of tea down" Similar putplaceput downlaylay downdepositpositionsettlestationleavestowpropleanstandplantposedisposeinformal:stickdumpbungparkplonkplumppopplunkrare:posit
- ▪ be situated or fixed in a specified place or position: "the village was set among olive groves on a hill" Similar be situatedbe locatedliestandbe sitedbe perchedbe found
- ▪ represent (a story, play, film, or scene) as happening at a specified time or in a specified place: "a private-eye novel set in Berlin"
- ▪ mount a precious stone in (something, typically a piece of jewellery): "a bracelet set with emeralds"
- ▪ mount (a precious stone) in something: "a huge square-cut emerald set in platinum" Similar adornornamentdecorateembellishdeckbedeckliterary:bejewel
- ▪ arrange (type) as required: "the compositors refused to set the type for an editorial"
- ▪ arrange the type for (a piece of text): "article headings will be set in Times fourteen point"
- ▪ prepare (a table) for a meal by placing cutlery, crockery, etc. on it in their proper places: "she set the table and began breakfast" Similar laypreparearrangemake ready
- ▪ move (a bell) so that it rests in an inverted position ready for ringing: "the ringer gradually increases the swing until the bell is balanced or set"
- ▪ cause (a hen) to sit on eggs: "you had to set the clucking hens"
- ▪ put (a seed or plant) in the ground to grow: "I set the plants in shallow hollows to facilitate watering"
- ▪ put (a sail) up in position to catch the wind: "a safe distance from shore all sails were set"
- 2. put or bring into a specified state: "the Home Secretary set in motion a review of the law"
- ▪ cause (someone or something) to start doing something: "the incident set me thinking"
- ▪ instruct (someone) to do something: "he'll set a man to watch you"
- ▪ give someone (a task or test) to do: "schools will begin to set mock tests" Similar assignallocategiveallotdealprescribe
- ▪ establish as (an example) for others to follow, copy, or try to achieve: "the scheme sets a precedent for other companies"
- ▪ establish (a record): "his time in the 25 m freestyle set a national record" Similar establishset upcreateprovideinstitute
- ▪ decide on and announce: "they set a date for a full hearing at the end of February" Similar decide onselectchoosearrangeschedulefixfix ondeterminedesignatenameappointspecifystipulatesettleresolve onagree onconfirm
- ▪ fix (a price, value, or limit) on something: "the unions had set a limit on the size of the temporary workforce"
- 3. adjust (a clock or watch), typically to show the right time: "set your watch immediately to local time at your destination" Similar adjustregulatesynchronizecoordinateharmonizecalibrateput rightcorrecttechnical:collimate
- ▪ adjust (an alarm clock) to sound at the required time: "I usually set my alarm clock for eight" Similar programmeactivateswitch onturn on
- ▪ adjust (a device) so that it performs a particular operation: "you have to be careful not to set the volume too high" Similar programmeactivateswitch onturn on
- ▪ cause (a binary device) to enter the state representing the numeral 1.
- 4. harden into a solid or semi-solid state: "cook for a further thirty-five minutes until the filling has set" Similar solidifyhardenbecome solidbecome hardstiffenthickengelcakecongealcoagulateclotfreezecrystallizerare:gelatinizeOpposite melt
- ▪ arrange (the hair) while damp so that it dries in the required style: "she had set her hair on small rollers"
- ▪ put parts of (a broken or dislocated bone or limb) into the correct position for healing: "he lined up the bones and set the arm"
- ▪ (of a bone) be restored to its normal condition by knitting together again after being broken: "children's bones soon set"
- ▪ (with reference to a person's face) assume or cause to assume a fixed or rigid expression: "her features never set into a civil parade of attention"
- ▪ (of a hunting dog) adopt a rigid attitude indicating the presence of game.
- 5. (of the sun, moon, or another celestial body) appear to move towards and below the earth's horizon as the earth rotates: "the sun was setting and a warm red glow filled the sky" Similar go downsinkdeclinedescenddropsubsidedip below the horizonvanishdisappearOpposite rise
- 6. (of a tide or current) take or have a specified direction or course: "a fair tide can be carried well past Land's End before the stream sets to the north"
- 7. start (a fire): North American "the school had been broken into and the fire had been set"
- 8. (of blossom or a tree) form into or produce (fruit): "wait until first flowers have set fruit before planting out the peppers"
- ▪ (of fruit) develop from blossom: "once fruits have set, feed weekly with a high potash liquid tomato fertilizer"
- ▪ (of a plant) produce (seed): "the herb has flowered and started to set seed"
- 9. sit: dialect "the rest of them people just set there goggle-eyed for a minute"
Word Origin Old Englishsettan, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch zetten, German setzen, also to sit.
Scrabble Points: 3
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1E
1T
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