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set back. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
set back, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
set back in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
set back you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Pronunciation
Verb
set back (third-person singular simple present sets back, present participle setting back, simple past and past participle set back)
- (transitive) To delay or obstruct.
- Coordinate term: hold back
I expect it will set us back by a day or so, but I think a side trip will be worthwhile.
Having the mindset that you "can't" reach your goals is only going to set you back.
1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 51:“Well,” I answered, at first with uncertainty, then with inspiration, “he would do splendidly to lead your cotillon, if you think of having one.” ¶ “So you do not dance, Mr. Crocker?” ¶ I was somewhat set back by her perspicuity.
- (transitive) To remove from or allow distance.
Set it back from the road by twenty or thirty feet.
- (transitive) To install or position behind a boundary or surface, or in a recess.
- Coordinate term: inset
The statue was set back in a niche.
- (transitive, idiomatic) To cost money.
How much do you suppose that fancy dress set her back?
- To reverse, go backwards.
- Coordinate terms: back out, back up, go back
1939 December, John D. Hewitt, “Some Notable British Main Lines: II. Salisbury and Exeter, S.R.”, in Railway Magazine, page 412:Before the platforms were extended up to the actual junction, branch trains had to set back into a bay.
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