Lot vs. Set

Lotnoun

A large quantity or number; a great deal.

‘to spend a lot of money;’; ‘lots of people think so’;

Setverb

(transitive) To put (something) down, to rest.

‘Set the tray there.’;

Lotnoun

A separate portion; a number of things taken collectively.

‘a lot of stationery’;

Setverb

(transitive) To attach or affix (something) to something else, or in or upon a certain place.

‘I have set my heart on running the marathon.’;

Lotnoun

One or more items auctioned or sold as a unit, separate from other items.

Setverb

(transitive) To put in a specified condition or state; to cause to be.

Lotnoun

(informal) A number of people taken collectively.

‘a sorry lot; a bad lot’;

Setverb

To cause to stop or stick; to obstruct; to fasten to a spot.

‘to set a coach in the mud’;

Lotnoun

A distinct portion or plot of land, usually smaller than a field.

‘a building lot in a city’;

Setverb

(transitive) To determine or settle.

‘to set the rent’;

Lotnoun

That which happens without human design or forethought; chance; accident; hazard; fortune; fate.

Setverb

(transitive) To adjust.

‘I set the alarm at 6 a.m.’;

Lotnoun

Anything (as a die, pebble, ball, or slip of paper) used in determining a question by chance, or without human choice or will.

‘to cast lots;’; ‘to draw lots’;

Setverb

(transitive) To punch (a nail) into wood so that its head is below the surface.

Lotnoun

The part, or fate, that falls to one, as it were, by chance, or without his planning.

Setverb

(transitive) To arrange with dishes and cutlery, to set the table.

‘Please set the table for our guests.’;

Lotnoun

A prize in a lottery.

Setverb

(transitive) To introduce or describe.

‘I’ll tell you what happened, but first let me set the scene.’;

Lotnoun

Allotment; lottery.

Setverb

(transitive) To locate (a play, etc.); to assign a backdrop to.

‘He says he will set his next film in France.’;

Lotnoun

All members of a set; everything.

‘The table was loaded with food, but by evening there was nothing but crumbs; we had eaten the lot.’; ‘If I were in charge, I'd fire the lot of them.’;

Setverb

(transitive) To compile, to make (a puzzle or challenge).

‘This crossword was set by Araucaria.’;

Lotnoun

An old unit of weight used in many European countries from the Middle Ages, often defined as 1/30 or 1/32 of a (local) pound.

Setverb

(transitive) To prepare (a stage or film set).

Lotverb

To allot; to sort; to apportion.

Setverb

(transitive) To fit (someone) up in a situation.

Lotverb

To count or reckon (on or upon).

Setverb

(transitive) To arrange (type).

‘It was a complex page, but he set it quickly.’;

Lotnoun

That which happens without human design or forethought; chance; accident; hazard; fortune; fate.

‘But save my life, which lot before your foot doth lay.’;

Setverb

(transitive) To devise and assign (work) to.

‘The teacher set her students the task of drawing a foot.’;

Lotnoun

Anything (as a die, pebble, ball, or slip of paper) used in determining a question by chance, or without man's choice or will; as, to cast or draw lots.

‘The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.’; ‘If we draw lots, he speeds.’;

Setverb

To direct (the ball) to a teammate for an attack.

Lotnoun

The part, or fate, which falls to one, as it were, by chance, or without his planning.

‘O visions ill foreseen! Each day's lot'sEnough to bear.’; ‘He was but born to tryThe lot of man - to suffer and to die.’;

Setverb

(intransitive) To solidify.

‘The glue sets in four minutes.’;

Lotnoun

A separate portion; a number of things taken collectively; all objects sold in a single purchase transaction; as, a lot of stationery; - colloquially, sometimes of people; as, a sorry lot; a bad lot.

‘I, this winter, met with a very large lot of English heads, chiefly of the reign of James I.’;

Setverb

(transitive) To render stiff or solid; especially, to convert into curd; to curdle.

‘to set milk for cheese’;

Lotnoun

A distinct portion or plot of land, usually smaller than a field; as, a building lot in a city.

‘The defendants leased a house and lot in the city of New York.’;

Setverb

(intransitive) 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.’;

Lotnoun

A large quantity or number; a great deal; as, to spend a lot of money; to waste a lot of time on line; lots of people think so.

‘He wrote to her . . . he might be detained in London by a lot of business.’;

Setverb

To defeat a contract.

Lotnoun

A prize in a lottery.

Setverb

To begin to move; to go forth.

Lotverb

To allot; to sort; to portion.

Setverb

To produce after pollination.

‘to set seed’;

Lotnoun

(often followed by `of') a large number or amount or extent;

‘a batch of letters’; ‘a deal of trouble’; ‘a lot of money’; ‘he made a mint on the stock market’; ‘it must have cost plenty’;

Setverb

To be fixed for growth; to strike root; to begin to germinate or form.

Lotnoun

a parcel of land having fixed boundaries;

‘he bought a lot on the lake’;

Setverb

To sit be in a seated position.

‘He sets in that chair all day.’;

Lotnoun

your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you);

‘whatever my fortune may be’; ‘deserved a better fate’; ‘has a happy lot’; ‘the luck of the Irish’; ‘a victim of circumstances’; ‘success that was her portion’;

Setverb

To hunt game with the aid of a setter.

Lotnoun

any collection in its entirety;

‘she bought the whole caboodle’;

Setverb

Of a dog, to indicate the position of game.

‘The dog sets the bird.’; ‘Your dog sets well.’;

Lotnoun

an unofficial association of people or groups;

‘the smart set goes there’; ‘they were an angry lot’;

Setverb

(obsolete) To apply oneself; to undertake earnestly; to set out.

Lotnoun

anything (straws or pebbles etc.) taken or chosen at random;

‘the luck of the draw’; ‘they drew lots for it’;

Setverb

(ambitransitive) To fit music to words.

Lotnoun

(Old Testament) nephew of Abraham; God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah but chose to spare Lot and his family who were told to flee without looking back at the destruction

Setverb

(ambitransitive) To place plants or shoots in the ground; to plant.

‘to set pear trees in an orchard’;

Lotverb

divide into lots, as of land, for example

Setverb

To become fixed or rigid; to be fastened.

Lotverb

administer or bestow, as in small portions;

‘administer critical remarks to everyone present’; ‘dole out some money’; ‘shell out pocket money for the children’; ‘deal a blow to someone’;

Setverb

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.’;

Lotpronoun

a large number or amount; a great deal

‘we had lots of fun’; ‘a lot can happen in eight months’; ‘they took a lot of abuse’; ‘there are a lot of actors in the cast’;

Setverb

To place or fix in a setting.

‘to set a precious stone in a border of metal’; ‘to set glass in a sash’;

Lotpronoun

the whole number or quantity that is involved or implied

‘you might as well take the whole lot’;

Setverb

To put in order in a particular manner; to prepare.

‘to set (that is, to hone) a razor’; ‘to set a saw’;

Lotadverb

a great deal; much

‘thanks a lot’; ‘he played tennis a lot last year’;

Setverb

To extend and bring into position; to spread.

‘to set the sails of a ship’;

Lotnoun

a river of southern France, which rises in the Auvergne and flows 480 km (300 miles) west to meet the River Garonne south-east of Bordeaux.

Setverb

To give a pitch to, as a tune; to start by fixing the keynote.

‘to set a psalm’;

Lotnoun

(in the Bible) the nephew of Abraham, who was allowed to escape from the destruction of Sodom (Gen. 19). His wife, who disobeyed orders and looked back, was turned into a pillar of salt.

Setverb

To reduce from a dislocated or fractured state.

‘to set a broken bone’;

Lotverb

divide (items) into lots for sale at an auction

‘the contents have already been lotted up, and the auction takes place on Monday’;

Setverb

(masonry) To lower into place and fix solidly, as the blocks of cut stone in a structure.

Setverb

(obsolete) To wager in gambling; to risk.

Setverb

To adorn with something infixed or affixed; to stud; to variegate with objects placed here and there.

Setverb

(obsolete) To value; to rate; used with at.

Setverb

To establish as a rule; to furnish; to prescribe; to assign.

‘to set a good example; to set lessons to be learned’;

Setverb

(Scotland) To suit; to become.

‘It sets him ill.’;

Setverb

To divide a class group in a subject according to ability

Setnoun

A punch for setting nails in wood.

‘nail set’;

Setnoun

A device for receiving broadcast radio waves (or, more recently, broadcast data); a radio or television.

‘television set’;

Setnoun

: a hole made and lived in by a badger.

Setnoun

: pattern of threads and yarns.

Setnoun

: piece of quarried stone.

Setnoun

(horticulture) A small tuber or bulb used instead of seed, particularly onion sets and potato sets.

Setnoun

The amount the teeth of a saw protrude to the side in order to create the kerf.

Setnoun

That which is staked; a wager; hence, a gambling game.

Setnoun

(engineering) Permanent change of shape caused by excessive strain, as from compression, tension, bending, twisting, etc.

‘the set of a spring’;

Setnoun

(piledriving) A piece placed temporarily upon the head of a pile when the latter cannot otherwise be reached by the weight, or hammer.

Setnoun

The width of the body of a type.

Setnoun

A young oyster when first attached.

Setnoun

Collectively, the crop of young oysters in any locality.

Setnoun

A series or group of something. (Note the similar meaning in Etymology 2, Noun)

Setnoun

(colloquial) The manner, state, or quality of setting or fitting; fit.

‘the set of a coat’;

Setnoun

The camber of a curved roofing tile.

Setnoun

A young plant fit for setting out; a slip; shoot.

Setnoun

A rudimentary fruit.

Setnoun

The setting of the sun or other luminary; (by extension) the close of the day.

Setnoun

General movement; direction; drift; tendency.

Setnoun

A matching collection of similar things. (Note the similar meaning in Etymology 1, Noun.)

‘a set of tables’;

Setnoun

A collection of various objects for a particular purpose.

‘a set of tools’;

Setnoun

An object made up of several parts.

‘a set of steps’;

Setnoun

(set theory) 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.

Setnoun

Set theory.

Setnoun

A group of people, usually meeting socially.

‘the country set’;

Setnoun

The scenery for a film or play.

Setnoun

(dance) The initial or basic formation of dancers.

Setnoun

(exercise) A group of repetitions of a single exercise performed one after the other without rest.

Setnoun

(tennis) A complete series of games, forming part of a match.

Setnoun

(volleyball) A complete series of points, forming part of a match.

Setnoun

(volleyball) The act of directing the ball to a teammate for an attack.

Setnoun

(music) A musical performance by a band, disc jockey, etc., consisting of several musical pieces.

Setnoun

(music) A drum kit, a drum set.

‘He plays the set on Saturdays.’;

Setnoun

A class group in a subject where pupils are divided by ability.

Setnoun

Three of a kind, especially if two cards are in one's hand and the third is on the board. Compare three of a kind, especially with two cards on the board and one in one's hand.

Setadjective

Fixed in position.

Setadjective

Rigid, solidified.

Setadjective

Ready, prepared.

‘on your marks, get set, go!;’; ‘on your marks, set, go!’;

Setadjective

Intent, determined (to do something).

‘set on getting to his destination’;

Setadjective

Prearranged.

‘a set menu’;

Setadjective

Fixed in one’s opinion.

‘I’m set against the idea of smacking children to punish them.’;

Setadjective

(of hair) Fixed in a certain style.

Setverb

To cause to sit; to make to assume a specified position or attitude; to give site or place to; to place; to put; to fix; as, to set a house on a stone foundation; to set a book on a shelf; to set a dish on a table; to set a chest or trunk on its bottom or on end.

‘I do set my bow in the cloud.’;

Setverb

Hence, to attach or affix (something) to something else, or in or upon a certain place.

‘Set your affection on things above.’; ‘The Lord set a mark upon Cain.’;

Setverb

To make to assume specified place, condition, or occupation; to put in a certain condition or state (described by the accompanying words); to cause to be.

‘The Lord thy God will set thee on high.’; ‘I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother.’; ‘Every incident sets him thinking.’;

Setverb

To fix firmly; to make fast, permanent, or stable; to render motionless; to give an unchanging place, form, or condition to.

Setverb

To cause to stop or stick; to obstruct; to fasten to a spot; hence, to occasion difficulty to; to embarrass; as, to set a coach in the mud.

‘They show how hard they are set in this particular.’;

Setverb

To put into a desired position or condition; to adjust; to regulate; to adapt.

Setverb

To fix beforehand; to determine; hence, to make unyielding or obstinate; to render stiff, unpliant, or rigid; as, to set one's countenance.

‘His eyes were set by reason of his age.’; ‘On these three objects his heart was set.’; ‘Make my heart as a millstone, set my face as a flint.’;

Setverb

To put in order in a particular manner; to prepare; as, to set (that is, to hone) a razor; to set a saw.

‘Tables for to sette, and beddes make.’;

Setverb

To stake at play; to wager; to risk.

‘I have set my life upon a cast,And I will stand the hazard of the die.’;

Setverb

To fix in the ground, as a post or a tree; to plant; as, to set pear trees in an orchard.

Setverb

To extend and bring into position; to spread; as, to set the sails of a ship.

Setverb

To fit with music; to adapt, as words to notes; to prepare for singing.

‘Set thy own songs, and sing them to thy lute.’;

Setverb

To fix, as a precious stone, in a border of metal; to place in a setting; hence, to place in or amid something which serves as a setting; as, to set glass in a sash.

‘And him too rich a jewel to be setIn vulgar metal for a vulgar use.’;

Setverb

To give a pitch to, as a tune; to start by fixing the keynote; as, to set a psalm.

Setverb

To determine; to appoint; to assign; to fix; as, to set a time for a meeting; to set a price on a horse.

Setverb

To render stiff or solid; especially, to convert into curd; to curdle; as, to set milk for cheese.

Setverb

To reduce from a dislocated or fractured state; to replace; as, to set a broken bone.

Setverb

To adorn with something infixed or affixed; to stud; to variegate with objects placed here and there.

‘High on their heads, with jewels richly set,Each lady wore a radiant coronet.’; ‘Pastoral dales thin set with modern farms.’;

Setverb

To make to agree with some standard; as, to set a watch or a clock.

Setverb

To value; to rate; - with at.

‘Be you contented, wearing now the garland,To have a son set your decrees at naught.’; ‘I do not set my life at a pin's fee.’;

Setverb

To lower into place and fix solidly, as the blocks of cut stone in a structure.

Setverb

To point out the seat or position of, as birds, or other game; - said of hunting dogs.

Setverb

To establish as a rule; to furnish; to prescribe; to assign; as, to set an example; to set lessons to be learned.

Setverb

To suit; to become; as, it sets him ill.

Setverb

To compose; to arrange in words, lines, etc.; as, to set type; to set a page.

‘Setting aside all other considerations, I will endeavor to know the truth, and yield to that.’; ‘Some rules were to be set down for the government of the army.’; ‘This law we may name eternal, being that order which God . . . hath set down with himself, for himself to do all things by.’; ‘The Venetian admiral had a fleet of sixty galleys, set forth by the Venetians.’; ‘If you please to assist and set me in, I will recollect myself.’; ‘They . . . set off the worst faces with the best airs.’; ‘An ugly woman, in rich habit set out with jewels, nothing can become.’; ‘The Venetians pretend they could set out, in case of great necessity, thirty men-of-war.’; ‘I could set out that best side of Luther.’; ‘I'll set up such a note as she shall hear.’;

Setverb

To pass below the horizon; to go down; to decline; to sink out of sight; to come to an end.

‘Ere the weary sun set in the west.’; ‘Thus this century sets with little mirth, and the next is likely to arise with more mourning.’;

Setverb

To fit music to words.

Setverb

To place plants or shoots in the ground; to plant.

Setverb

To be fixed for growth; to strike root; to begin to germinate or form; as, cuttings set well; the fruit has set well (i. e., not blasted in the blossom).

Setverb

To become fixed or rigid; to be fastened.

‘A gathering and serring of the spirits together to resist, maketh the teeth to set hard one against another.’;

Setverb

To congeal; to concrete; to solidify; - of cements, glues, gels, concrete, substances polymerizing into plastics, etc.

‘That fluid substance in a few minutes begins to set.’;

Setverb

To have a certain direction in motion; to flow; to move on; to tend; as, the current sets to the north; the tide sets to the windward.

Setverb

To begin to move; to go out or forth; to start; - now followed by out.

‘The king is set from London.’;

Setverb

To indicate the position of game; - said of a dog; as, the dog sets well; also, to hunt game by the aid of a setter.

Setverb

To apply one's self; to undertake earnestly; - now followed by out.

‘If he sets industriously and sincerely to perform the commands of Christ, he can have no ground of doubting but it shall prove successful to him.’;

Setverb

To fit or suit one; to sit; as, the coat sets well.

‘He that would seriously set upon the search of truth.’; ‘Cassio hath here been set on in the dark.’; ‘Those men who set up for mortality without regard to religion, are generally but virtuous in part.’;

Setadjective

Fixed in position; immovable; rigid; as, a set line; a set countenance.

Setadjective

Firm; unchanging; obstinate; as, set opinions or prejudices.

Setadjective

Regular; uniform; formal; as, a set discourse; a set battle.

Setadjective

Established; prescribed; as, set forms of prayer.

Setadjective

Adjusted; arranged; formed; adapted.

Setnoun

The act of setting, as of the sun or other heavenly body; descent; hence, the close; termination.

‘The weary sun hath made a golden set.’;

Setnoun

That which is set, placed, or fixed.

‘We will in France, by God's grace, play a setShall strike his father's crown into the hazard.’; ‘That was but civil war, an equal set.’;

Setnoun

Permanent change of figure in consequence of excessive strain, as from compression, tension, bending, twisting, etc.; as, the set of a spring.

Setnoun

A number of things of the same kind, ordinarily used or classed together; a collection of articles which naturally complement each other, and usually go together; an assortment; a suit; as, a set of chairs, of china, of surgical or mathematical instruments, of books, etc.

Setnoun

A kind of punch used for bending, indenting, or giving shape to, metal; as, a saw set.

Setnoun

A number of persons associated by custom, office, common opinion, quality, or the like; a division; a group; a clique.

‘This falls into different divisions, or sets, of nations connected under particular religions.’;

Setnoun

A piece placed temporarily upon the head of a pile when the latter cannot be reached by the weight, or hammer, except by means of such an intervening piece.

Setnoun

Direction or course; as, the set of the wind, or of a current.

Setnoun

A short steel spike used for driving the head of a nail below the surface. Called also nail set.

Setnoun

In dancing, the number of persons necessary to execute a quadrille; also, the series of figures or movements executed.

Setnoun

The deflection of a tooth, or of the teeth, of a saw, which causes the the saw to cut a kerf, or make an opening, wider than the blade.

Setnoun

A young oyster when first attached.

Setnoun

A series of as many games as may be necessary to enable one side to win six. If at the end of the tenth game the score is a tie, the set is usually called a deuce set, and decided by an application of the rules for playing off deuce in a game. See Deuce.

Setnoun

That dimension of the body of a type called by printers the width.

Setnoun

Any of various standards of measurement of the fineness of cloth; specif., the number of reeds in one inch and the number of threads in each reed. The exact meaning varies according to the location where it is used. Sometimes written sett.

Setnoun

A stone, commonly of granite, shaped like a short brick and usually somewhat larger than one, used for street paving. Commonly written sett.

Setnoun

Camber of a curved roofing tile.

Setnoun

The manner, state, or quality of setting or fitting; fit; as, the set of a coat.

Setnoun

Any collection or group of objects considered together.

Set

An evil beast-headed god with high square ears and a long snout; his was the brother and murderer of Osiris. Called also Seth

Setnoun

a group of things of the same kind that belong together and are so used;

‘a set of books’; ‘a set of golf clubs’; ‘a set of teeth’;

Setnoun

(mathematics) an abstract collection of numbers or symbols;

‘the set of prime numbers is infinite’;

Setnoun

several exercises intended to be done in series;

‘he did four sets of the incline bench press’;

Setnoun

representation consisting of the scenery and other properties used to identify the location of a dramatic production;

‘the sets were meticulously authentic’;

Setnoun

an unofficial association of people or groups;

‘the smart set goes there’; ‘they were an angry lot’;

Setnoun

a relatively permanent inclination to react in a particular way;

‘the set of his mind was obvious’;

Setnoun

the act of putting something in position;

‘he gave a final set to his hat’;

Setnoun

a unit of play in tennis or squash;

‘they played two sets of tennis after dinner’;

Setnoun

the process of becoming hard or solid by cooling or drying or crystallization;

‘the hardening of concrete’; ‘he tested the set of the glue’;

Setnoun

evil beast-headed Egyptian god with high square ears and a long snout; brother and murderer of Osiris

Setnoun

the descent of a heavenly body below the horizon;

‘before the set of sun’;

Setnoun

(psychology) a temporary readiness to respond in a particular way;

‘the subjects' set led them to solve problems the familiar way and to overlook the simpler solution’; ‘his instructions deliberately gave them the wrong set’;

Setnoun

any electronic equipment that receives or transmits radio or tv signals;

‘the early sets ran on storage batteries’;

Setverb

put into a certain place or abstract location;

‘Put your things here’; ‘Set the tray down’; ‘Set the dogs on the scent of the missing children’; ‘Place emphasis on a certain point’;

Setverb

fix conclusively or authoritatively;

‘set the rules’;

Setverb

decide upon or fix definitely;

‘fix the variables’; ‘specify the parameters’;

Setverb

establish as the highest level or best performance;

‘set a record’;

Setverb

put into a certain state; cause to be in a certain state;

‘set the house afire’;

Setverb

fix in a border;

‘The goldsmith set the diamond’;

Setverb

make ready or suitable or equip in advance for a particular purpose or for some use, event, etc;

‘Get the children ready for school!’; ‘prepare for war’; ‘I was fixing to leave town after I paid the hotel bill’;

Setverb

set to a certain position or cause to operate correctly;

‘set clocks or instruments’;

Setverb

locate;

‘The film is set in Africa’;

Setverb

disappear beyond the horizon;

‘the sun sets early these days’;

Setverb

adapt for performance in a different way;

‘set this poem to music’;

Setverb

put or set (seeds or seedlings) into the ground;

‘Let's plant flowers in the garden’;

Setverb

apply or start;

‘set fire to a building’;

Setverb

become gelatinous;

‘the liquid jelled after we added the enzyme’;

Setverb

put into a position that will restore a normal state;

‘set a broken bone’;

Setverb

insert (a nail or screw below the surface, as into a countersink)

Setverb

give a fine, sharp edge to a knife or razor

Setverb

urge a dog to attack someone

Setverb

estimate;

‘We put the time of arrival at 8 P.M.’;

Setverb

equip with sails, masts, etc.;

‘rig a ship’;

Setverb

get ready for a particular purpose or event;

‘set up an experiment’; ‘set the table’; ‘lay out the tools for the surgery’;

Setverb

alter or regulate so as to achieve accuracy or conform to a standard;

‘Adjust the clock, please’; ‘correct the alignment of the front wheels’;

Setverb

bear fruit;

‘the apple trees fructify’;

Setverb

arrange attractively;

‘dress my hair for the wedding’;

Setadjective

(usually followed by `to' or `for') on the point of or strongly disposed;

‘in no fit state to continue’; ‘fit to drop’; ‘laughing fit to burst’; ‘she was fit to scream’; ‘primed for a fight’; ‘we are set to go at any time’;

Setadjective

fixed and unmoving;

‘with eyes set in a fixed glassy stare’; ‘his bearded face already has a set hollow look’; ‘a face rigid with pain’;

Setadjective

situated in a particular spot or position;

‘valuable centrally located urban land’; ‘strategically placed artillery’; ‘a house set on a hilltop’; ‘nicely situated on a quiet riverbank’;

Setadjective

set down according to a plan:

‘a carefully laid table with places set for four people’; ‘stones laid in a pattern’;

Setadjective

being below the horizon;

‘the moon is set’;

Setadjective

determined or decided upon as by an authority;

‘date and place are already determined’; ‘the dictated terms of surrender’; ‘the time set for the launching’;

Setadjective

converted to solid form (as concrete)

Setverb

put, lay, or stand (something) in a specified place or position

‘Catherine set a chair by the bed’; ‘Delaney set the mug of tea down’;

Setverb

be situated or fixed in a specified place or position

‘the village was set among olive groves on a hill’;

Setverb

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’;

Setverb

mount a precious stone in (something, typically a piece of jewellery)

‘a bracelet set with emeralds’;

Setverb

mount (a precious stone) in something

‘a huge square-cut emerald set in platinum’;

Setverb

arrange (type) as required

‘the compositors refused to set the type for an editorial’;

Setverb

arrange the type for (a piece of text)

‘article headings will be set in Times fourteen point’;

Setverb

prepare (a table) for a meal by placing cutlery, crockery, etc. on it in their proper places

‘she set the table and began breakfast’;

Setverb

provide (music) so that a written work can be produced in a musical form

‘a form of poetry which can be set to music’;

Setverb

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’;

Setverb

cause (a hen) to sit on eggs

‘you had to set the clucking hens’;

Setverb

put (a seed or plant) in the ground to grow

‘I set the plants in shallow hollows to facilitate watering’;

Setverb

put (a sail) up in position to catch the wind

‘a safe distance from shore all sails were set’;

Setverb

put or bring into a specified state

‘the hostages were set free’; ‘the Home Secretary set in motion a review of the law’;

Setverb

cause (someone or something) to start doing something

‘the incident set me thinking’;

Setverb

instruct (someone) to do something

‘he'll set a man to watch you’;

Setverb

give someone (a task or test) to do

‘the problem we have been set’; ‘schools will begin to set mock tests’;

Setverb

establish as (an example) for others to follow, copy, or try to achieve

‘the scheme sets a precedent for other companies’;

Setverb

establish (a record)

‘his time in the 25 m freestyle set a national record’;

Setverb

decide on and announce

‘they set a date for a full hearing at the end of February’;

Setverb

fix (a price, value, or limit) on something

‘the unions had set a limit on the size of the temporary workforce’;

Setverb

adjust (a clock or watch), typically to show the right time

‘set your watch immediately to local time at your destination’; ‘to revert to an old style would be to try to set back the clock and deny the progress which had been made’;

Setverb

adjust (an alarm clock) to sound at the required time

‘I usually set my alarm clock for eight’;

Setverb

adjust (a device) so that it performs a particular operation

‘you have to be careful not to set the volume too high’;

Setverb

cause (a binary device) to enter the state representing the numeral 1.

Setverb

harden into a solid or semi-solid state

‘cook for a further thirty-five minutes until the filling has set’;

Setverb

arrange (the hair) while damp so that it dries in the required style

‘she had set her hair on small rollers’;

Setverb

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’;

Setverb

(of a bone) be restored to its normal condition by knitting together again after being broken

‘children's bones soon set’;

Setverb

(with reference to a person's face) assume or cause to assume a fixed or rigid expression

‘Travis's face was set as he looked up’; ‘her features never set into a civil parade of attention’;

Setverb

(of a hunting dog) adopt a rigid attitude indicating the presence of game.

Setverb

(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’;

Setverb

(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’;

Setverb

start (a fire)

‘the school had been broken into and the fire had been set’;

Setverb

(of blossom or a tree) form into or produce (fruit)

‘wait until first flowers have set fruit before planting out the peppers’;

Setverb

(of fruit) develop from blossom

‘once fruits have set, feed weekly with a high potash liquid tomato fertilizer’;

Setverb

(of a plant) produce (seed)

‘the herb has flowered and started to set seed’;

Setverb

sit

‘the rest of them people just set there goggle-eyed for a minute’;

Setverb

group (pupils or students) in sets according to ability.

Setnoun

a group or collection of things that belong together or resemble one another or are usually found together

‘a spare set of clothes’; ‘a set of false teeth’; ‘a new cell with two sets of chromosomes’;

Setnoun

a collection of implements, containers, or other objects customarily used together

‘a fondue set’;

Setnoun

a group of people with common interests or occupations or of similar social status

‘it was a fashionable haunt of the literary set’;

Setnoun

a group of pupils or students of the same average ability in a particular subject who are taught together

‘the policy of allocating pupils to mathematics sets’;

Setnoun

(in tennis, darts, and other games) a group of games counting as a unit towards a match

‘he took the first set 6–3’;

Setnoun

(in jazz or popular music) a sequence of songs or pieces performed together and constituting or forming part of a live show or recording

‘a short four-song set’;

Setnoun

a group of people making up the required number for a square dance or similar country dance.

Setnoun

a fixed number of repetitions of a particular bodybuilding exercise

‘making sure that you perform 3 sets of at least 8 repetitions’;

Setnoun

a collection of distinct entities regarded as a unit, being either individually specified or (more usually) satisfying specified conditions

‘the set of all positive integers’;

Setnoun

the way in which something is set, disposed, or positioned

‘the shape and set of the eyes’;

Setnoun

the posture or attitude of a part of the body, typically in relation to the impression this gives of a person's feelings or intentions

‘the determined set of her upper torso’;

Setnoun

short for mindset

‘he's got this set against social psychology’;

Setnoun

a grudge

‘most of them hear a thing or two and then get a set on you’;

Setnoun

the flow of a current or tide in a particular direction

‘the rudder kept the dinghy straight against the set of the tide’;

Setnoun

the inverted position of a bell when it is ready for ringing.

Setnoun

a setter's pointing in the presence of game.

Setnoun

the inclination of the teeth of a saw in alternate directions.

Setnoun

a warp or bend in wood, metal, or another material caused by continued strain or pressure.

Setnoun

a radio or television receiver

‘a TV set’;

Setnoun

a collection of scenery, stage furniture, and other articles used for a particular scene in a play or film.

Setnoun

the place or area in which filming is taking place or a play is performed

‘the magazine has interviews on set with top directors’;

Setnoun

an arrangement of the hair when damp so that it dries in the required style

‘a shampoo and set’;

Setnoun

a cutting, young plant, or bulb used in the propagation of new plants.

Setnoun

a young fruit that has just formed.

Setnoun

the last coat of plaster on a wall.

Setnoun

the amount of spacing in type controlling the distance between letters.

Setnoun

the width of a piece of type.

Setnoun

variant spelling of sett

Setnoun

another term for plant (sense 4 of the noun)

Setadjective

fixed or arranged in advance

‘try to feed the puppy at set times each day’;

Setadjective

(of a view or habit) unlikely to change

‘I've been on my own a long time and I'm rather set in my ways’;

Setadjective

(of a person's expression) held for an unnaturally long time without changing, typically as a reflection of determination

‘Iris was staring in front of her with a set expression’;

Setadjective

(of a meal or menu in a restaurant) offered at a fixed price with a limited choice of dishes

‘a three-course set menu’;

Setadjective

(of a book) prescribed for study as part of a particular course or for an examination

‘his book is a set text which has influenced countless schoolchildren’;

Setadjective

having a conventional or predetermined wording; formulaic

‘witnesses often delivered their testimony according to a set speech’;

Setadjective

ready, prepared, or likely to do something

‘water costs look set to increase’; ‘the first family was set for a quiet night of rest’; ‘both are all set to get married’;

Setadjective

firmly opposed to

‘last night you were dead set against the idea’;

Setadjective

determined to do (something)

‘he's set on marrying that girl’;