6 VERB If you set a date, price, goal, or level, you decide what it will be. □ [V n] The conference chairman has set a deadline of noon tomorrow. □ [be V -ed + for ] A date will be set for a future meeting.
7 VERB If you set a certain value on something, you think it has that value. □ [V n + on ] She sets a high value on autonomy.
8 VERB If you set something such as a record, an example, or a precedent, you do something that people will want to copy or try to achieve. □ [V n] The outcome could set a precedent for other businesses with similar objections. □ [be V -ed] The previous record of 128,100ft was set by Felix Baumgartner.
9 VERB If someone sets you a task or aim or if you set yourself a task or aim, you need to succeed in doing it. □ [V n n] I have to plan my academic work very rigidly and set myself clear objectives.
10 VERB To set an examination or a question paper means to decide what questions will be asked in it. [BRIT ] □ [V n] He broke with the tradition of setting examinations in Latin. in AM, usually use make up 11 ADJ [usu ADJ n] You use set to describe something which is fixed and cannot be changed. □ Investors can apply for a package of shares at a set price.
12 ADJ [ADJ n] A set book must be studied by students taking a particular course. [BRIT ] □ One of the set books is Jane Austen's Emma. in AM, use required 13 ADJ If a play, film, or story is set in a particular place or period of time, the events in it take place in that place or period. □ [+ in ] The play is set in a small Midwestern town.
14 ADJ If you are set to do something, you are ready to do it or are likely to do it. If something is set to happen, it is about to happen or likely to happen. □ Cristiano Ronaldo was set to become one of the greatest players of all time.
15 ADJ If you are set on something, you are strongly determined to do or have it. If you are set against something, you are strongly determined not to do or have it. □ [+ on/against ] She was set on going to an all-girls school.
16 VERB If you set your face or jaw, you put on a fixed expression of determination. □ [V n] Instead, she set her jaw grimly and waited in silence.
17 VERB When something such as jelly, melted plastic, or cement sets , it becomes firm or hard. □ [V ] You can add ingredients to these desserts as they begin to set.
18 VERB When the sun sets , it goes below the horizon. □ [V ] They watched the sun set behind the distant dales. □ [V -ing] …the red glow of the setting sun.
19 VERB To set a trap means to prepare it to catch someone or something. □ [V n + for ] He seemed to think I was setting some sort of trap for him.
20 VERB When someone sets the table, they prepare it for a meal by putting plates and cutlery on it.
21 VERB If someone sets a poem or a piece of writing to music, they write music for the words to be sung to. □ [V n + to ] He has attracted much interest by setting ancient religious texts to music.
22 → see also setting , set-to
23 PHRASE If someone sets the scene or sets the stage for an event to take place, they make preparations so that it can take place. □ The convention set the scene for a ferocious election campaign.
24 PHRASE If you say that someone is set in their ways , you are being critical of the fact that they have fixed habits and ideas which they will not easily change, even though they may be old-fashioned. [DISAPPROVAL ]
25 to set eyes on something → see eye
26 to set fire to something → see fire ➊
27 to set foot somewhere → see foot
28 to set your heart on something → see heart
29 to set sail → see sail
30 to set great store by or on something → see store
31 to set to work → see work
▸ set against
1 PHRASAL VERB If one argument or fact is set against another, it is considered in relation to it. □ [be V -ed P n] These are relatively small points when set against her expertise on so many other issues. [Also V n P n]
2 PHRASAL VERB To set one person against another means to cause them to become enemies or rivals. □ [V n P n] The case has set neighbour against neighbour in the village.
▸ set apart PHRASAL VERB If a characteristic sets you apart from other people, it makes you different from the others in a noticeable way. □ [V n P + from ] What sets it apart from hundreds of similar small French towns is the huge factory. □ [V n P ] Li blends right into the crowd of teenagers. Only his accent sets him apart.
▸ set aside
1 PHRASAL VERB If you set something aside for a special use or purpose, you keep it available for that use or purpose. □ [V P n] Some doctors advise setting aside a certain hour each day for worry. □ [be V -ed P + for ] £130 million would be set aside for repairs to schools. [Also V n P ]
2 PHRASAL VERB If you set aside a belief, principle, or feeling, you decide that you will not be influenced by it. □ [V P n] He urged them to set aside minor differences for the sake of peace. [Also V n P ]