set|back /se tbæk/ (setbacks ) also set-back N‑COUNT A setback is an event that delays your progress or reverses some of the progress that you have made. □ [+ for/in/to ] The move represents a setback for the peace process.
se t pie ce (set pieces ) also set-piece
1 N‑COUNT [oft N n] A set piece is an occasion such as a battle or a move in a game of football that is planned and carried out in an ordered way. □ Guerrillas avoid fighting set-piece battles.
2 N‑COUNT A set piece is a part of a film, novel, or piece of music which has a strong dramatic effect and which is often not an essential part of the main story. □ …the film's martial arts set pieces.
sett /se t/ (setts ) N‑COUNT A sett is the place where a badger lives.
set|tee /setiː / (settees ) N‑COUNT A settee is a long comfortable seat with a back and arms, which two or more people can sit on.
set|ter /se tə r / (setters ) N‑COUNT A setter is a long-haired dog that can be trained to show hunters where birds and animals are.
set|ting /se t I ŋ/ (settings )
1 N‑COUNT A particular setting is a particular place or type of surroundings where something is or takes place. □ [+ for ] Rome is the perfect setting for romance.
2 N‑COUNT A setting is one of the positions to which the controls of a device such as a cooker, stove, or heater can be adjusted. □ You can boil the fish fillets on a high setting.
3 N‑COUNT A table setting is the complete set of equipment that one person needs to eat a meal, including knives, forks, spoons, and glasses.
set|tle ◆◆◇ /se t ə l/ (settles , settling , settled )
1 VERB If people settle an argument or problem, or if something settles it, they solve it, for example by making a decision about who is right or about what to do. □ [V n] They agreed to try to settle their dispute by negotiation. □ [V n] Tomorrow's vote is unlikely to settle the question of who will replace their leader.
2 VERB If people settle a legal dispute or if they settle , they agree to end the dispute without going to a court of law, for example by paying some money or by apologizing. □ [V n] In an attempt to settle the case, Molken has agreed to pay restitution. □ [V ] She got much less than she would have done if she had settled out of court. □ [V + with ] His company settled with the authorities by paying a $200 million fine.
3 VERB If you settle a bill or debt, you pay the amount that you owe. □ [V n] I settled the bill for my coffee. □ [V + with ] They settled with Colin at the end of the evening.
4 VERB [usu passive] If something is settled , it has all been decided and arranged. □ [be V -ed] As far as we're concerned, the matter is settled.
5 VERB When people settle a place or in a place, or when a government settles them there, they start living there permanently. □ [V prep/adv] Refugees settling in Britain suffer from a number of problems. □ [V n] Thirty-thousand-million dollars is needed to settle the refugees. [Also V n prep/adv, V ]
6 VERB If you settle yourself somewhere or settle somewhere, you sit down or make yourself comfortable. □ [V pron-refl prep/adv] Albert settled himself on the sofa. □ [V prep/adv] Jessica settled into her chair with a small sigh of relief.
7 VERB If something settles or if you settle it, it sinks slowly down and becomes still. □ [V prep/adv] A black dust settled on the walls. □ [V ] Once its impurities had settled, the oil could be graded. □ [V n] Tap each one firmly on your work surface to settle the mixture.
8 VERB If your eyes settle on or upon something, you stop looking around and look at that thing for some time. □ [V + on/upon ] The man let his eyes settle upon Cross's face.
9 VERB When birds or insects settle on something, they land on it from above. □ [V + on ] Moths flew in front of it, eventually settling on the rough painted metal.
10 → see also settled
11 when the dust settles → see dust
12 to settle a score → see score
▸ settle down
1 PHRASAL VERB When someone settles down , they start living a quiet life in one place, especially when they get married or buy a house. □ [V P ] One day I'll want to settle down and have a family. □ [V P prep/adv] As a southerner, he did not want to move north, fearing that he 'might never settle down in the provinces'.
2 PHRASAL VERB If a situation or a person that has been going through a lot of problems or changes settles down , they become calm. □ [V P ] Though previously troubled by civil strife, Kashmir has settled down.
3 PHRASAL VERB If you settle down to do something or to something, you prepare to do it and concentrate on it. □ [V P to-inf] He got his coffee, came back and settled down to listen. □ [V P + to ] They settled down to some serious work.
4 PHRASAL VERB If you settle down for the night, you get ready to lie down and sleep. □ [V P ] They put up their tents and settled down for the night.
▸ settle for PHRASAL VERB If you settle for something, you choose or accept it, especially when it is not what you really want but there is nothing else available. □ [V P n] Virginia was a perfectionist. She was just not prepared to settle for anything mediocre.
▸ settle in PHRASAL VERB If you settle in , you become used to living in a new place, doing a new job, or going to a new school. □ [V P ] I enjoyed King Edward's School enormously once I'd settled in.