Meanings
-
1
verb
To put or place something in a particular position.
She set the cups carefully on the table.
-
2
verb
To prepare or arrange something for a particular purpose.
They set up an experiment to test the theory.
-
3
verb
To decide and fix something firmly, such as rules or a time.
The committee set the rules for the competition.
-
4
verb
To place the action of a story in a particular time or place.
The film is set in Africa during the 1950s.
-
5
verb
To achieve the best or highest level of something.
She set a new world record in the 100 metres.
Thesaurus
Common collocations
Etymology
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 grou…
View etymology graph ->