set.
To put (something) down, to rest.
Meaning & usage
To put (something) down, to rest.
Set the tray there.
To attach or affix (something) to something else, or in or upon a certain place.
I have set my heart on running the marathon.
To put in a specified condition or state; to cause to be.
To start (a fire).
To cause to stop or stick; to obstruct; to fasten to a spot.
to set a coach in the mud
To determine or settle.
to set the rent
To adjust.
I set the alarm at 6 a.m.
I set the alarm for 6 a.m.
To punch (a nail) into wood so that its head is below the surface.
To arrange with dishes and cutlery, to set the table.
Please set the table for our guests.
To introduce or describe.
I’ll tell you what happened, but first let me set the scene.
To locate (a play, etc.); to assign a backdrop to, geographically or temporally.
He says he will set his next film in France.
Her debut novel is set during the U.S. Civil War.
To compile, to make (a puzzle or challenge).
This crossword was set by Araucaria.
To prepare (a stage or film set).
To fit (someone) up in a situation.
To arrange (type).
It was a complex page, but he set it quickly.
To devise and assign (work) to.
The teacher set her students the task of drawing a foot.
To direct (the ball) to a teammate for an attack.
To gel; to solidify.
This glue sets in five minutes.
This jelly sets within a few hours when refrigerated.
To render stiff or solid; especially, to convert into curd; to curdle.
to set milk for cheese
Of a heavenly body, to disappear below the horizon of a planet, etc, as the latter rotates.
The moon sets at eight o'clock tonight.
To defeat a contract.
To begin to move; to go forth.
To produce after pollination.
to set seed
To be fixed for growth; to strike root; to begin to germinate or form.
To sit (be in a seated position).
He sets in that chair all day.
To rest or lie somewhere, on something, etc.; to occupy a certain place.
To hunt game with the aid of a setter.
Of a dog, to indicate the position of game.
The dog sets the bird.
Your dog sets well.
To apply oneself; to undertake earnestly.
To fit music to words.
To place plants or shoots in the ground; to plant.
to set pear trees in an orchard
To become fixed or rigid; to be fastened.
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.
To 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.
To place or fix in a setting.
to set a precious stone in a border of metal
to set glass in a sash
To put in order in a particular manner; to prepare.
to set (that is, to hone) a razor
to set a saw
To extend and bring into position; to spread.
to set the sails of a ship
To give a pitch to, as a tune; to start by fixing the keynote.
To reduce from a dislocated or fractured state.
to set a broken bone
To sit or lie (easily etc.) on the stomach; to be digested in a certain manner.
To lower into place and fix solidly, as the blocks of cut stone in a structure.
To wager in gambling; to risk.
To adorn with something infixed or affixed; to stud; to variegate with objects placed here and there.
To value; to rate; used with at.
To establish as a rule; to furnish; to prescribe; to assign.
to set a good example
To suit; to become.
It sets him ill.
To cause (a domestic fowl) to sit on eggs to brood.
To set a hen.
To arrange the casting of a movie.
Paramount Pictures has set Jennifer Love Hewitt for a movie called Two Can Play This Game.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sed- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Proto-Indo-European *sodéyeti Proto-Germanic *satjaną Proto-West Germanic *sattjan Old English settan Middle English setten English set From Middle English setten, from Old English settan, from Proto-West Germanic *sattjan, from Proto-Germanic *satjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *sodéyeti, causative of *sed- (“to sit”). Cognate with Dutch zetten, German setzen, Danish sætte, Norwegian Bokmål sette, Icelandic and Norwegian Nynorsk setja, Swedish sätta, Faroese seta.
A punch for setting nails in wood.
nail set
A device for receiving broadcast radio waves (or, more recently, broadcast data); a radio or television.
television set
Alternative form of sett (“a hole made and lived in by a badger”).
Alternative form of sett (“pattern of threads and yarns”).
Alternative form of sett (“piece of quarried stone”).
A small tuber or bulb used instead of seed, particularly onion sets and potato sets.
The amount by which the teeth of a saw protrude to the side in order to create the kerf.
A permanent change of shape caused by excessive strain, as from compression, tension, bending, twisting, etc.
the set of a spring
A bias of mind; an attitude or pattern of behaviour.
A piece placed temporarily upon the head of a pile when the latter cannot otherwise be reached by the weight, or hammer.
The width of the body of a type.
A young oyster when first attached.
Collectively, the crop of young oysters in any locality.
A series or group of something. (Note the similar meaning in Etymology 4, Noun)
The manner, state, or quality of setting or fitting; fit.
the set of a coat
The pattern of a tartan, etc.
The camber of a curved roofing tile.
The full number of eggs set under a hen.
That which is staked; a wager; hence, a gambling game.
A tool for dressing forged iron.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English set, sette, from Old English set (“seat, place of residence, camp, settlement, entrenchment, stable, pen”), from Proto-West Germanic *set (“seat”), from Proto-Germanic *setą (“seat”).
Fixed in position.
Rigid, solidified.
Ready, prepared.
on your marks, get set, go!; on your marks, set, go!
Intent, determined (to do something).
set on getting to his destination
Prearranged.
a set menu
a set book
Fixed in one’s opinion.
I’m set against the idea of smacking children to punish them.
Fixed in a certain style.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English sett, from Old English ġesett, past participle of settan.
A young plant fit for setting out; a slip; shoot.
A rudimentary fruit.
The setting of the sun or other luminary; (by extension) the close of the day.
General movement; direction; drift; tendency.
A matching collection of similar things. (Note the similar meaning in Etymology 2, Noun.)
a set of tables
A collection of various objects for a particular purpose.
a set of tools
An object made up of several parts.
a set of steps
A 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.
Set theory.
A group of people, usually meeting socially or connected through some shared interest, activity, attribute, etc.
the country set
The scenery for a film or play.
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.
The initial or basic formation of dancers.
A group of repetitions of a single exercise performed one after the other without rest.
A complete series of games, forming part of a match.
A complete series of points, forming part of a match.
The act of directing the ball to a teammate for an attack.
A musical performance by a band, disc jockey, etc., consisting of several musical pieces.
A drum kit, a drum set.
He plays the set on Saturdays.
A class group in a subject where pupils are divided by ability.
Three 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”).
Where this word comes from
From Middle English set, sete, sette (“that which is set, the act of setting, seat”), from Old English set (“setting, seat, a place where people remain, habitation, camp, entrenchment, a place where animals are kept, stall, fold”) and Old English seten (“a set, shoot, slip, branch; a nursery, plantation; that which is planted or set; a cultivated place; planting, cultivation; a setting, putting; a stopping; occupied land”), related to Old English settan (“to set”). Compare Middle Low German gesette (“a set, suite”), Old English gesetl (“assembly”). According to Skeat, in senses denoting a group of things or persons, representing an alteration of sept, from Old French sette (“a religious sect”), from Medieval Latin secta (“retinue”), from Latin secta (“a faction”). See sect. It is quite possible that the modern word is more of a merger between both, however.
To divide a class group in a subject according to ability
Where this word comes from
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. )
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.