To set about

To set about
Set Set (s[e^]t), v. i. 1. To pass below the horizon; to go down; to decline; to sink out of sight; to come to an end. [1913 Webster]

Ere the weary sun set in the west. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

Thus this century sets with little mirth, and the next is likely to arise with more mourning. --Fuller. [1913 Webster]

2. To fit music to words. [Obs.] --Shak. [1913 Webster]

3. To place plants or shoots in the ground; to plant. ``To sow dry, and set wet.'' --Old Proverb. [1913 Webster]

4. 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). [1913 Webster]

5. To become fixed or rigid; to be fastened. [1913 Webster]

A gathering and serring of the spirits together to resist, maketh the teeth to set hard one against another. --Bacon. [1913 Webster]

6. To congeal; to concrete; to solidify; -- of cements, glues, gels, concrete, substances polymerizing into plastics, etc. [1913 Webster +PJC]

That fluid substance in a few minutes begins to set. --Boyle. [1913 Webster]

7. 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. [1913 Webster]

8. To begin to move; to go out or forth; to start; -- now followed by out. [1913 Webster]

The king is set from London. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

9. 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. [1913 Webster]

10. To apply one's self; to undertake earnestly; -- now followed by out. [1913 Webster]

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. --Hammond. [1913 Webster]

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

Note: [Colloquially used, but improperly, for sit.] [1913 Webster]

Note: The use of the verb set for sit in such expressions as, the hen is setting on thirteen eggs; a setting hen, etc., although colloquially common, and sometimes tolerated in serious writing, is not to be approved. [1913 Webster]

{To set about}, to commence; to begin.

{To set forward}, to move or march; to begin to march; to advance.

{To set forth}, to begin a journey.

{To set in}. (a) To begin; to enter upon a particular state; as, winter set in early. (b) To settle one's self; to become established. ``When the weather was set in to be very bad.'' --Addison. (c) To flow toward the shore; -- said of the tide.

{To set off}. (a) To enter upon a journey; to start. (b) (Typog.) To deface or soil the next sheet; -- said of the ink on a freshly printed sheet, when another sheet comes in contact with it before it has had time to dry.

{To set on} or {To set upon}. (a) To begin, as a journey or enterprise; to set about. [1913 Webster]

He that would seriously set upon the search of truth. --Locke. [1913 Webster] (b) To assault; to make an attack. --Bacon. [1913 Webster]

Cassio hath here been set on in the dark. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

{To set out}, to begin a journey or course; as, to set out for London, or from London; to set out in business;to set out in life or the world.

{To set to}, to apply one's self to.

{To set up}. (a) To begin business or a scheme of life; as, to set up in trade; to set up for one's self. (b) To profess openly; to make pretensions. [1913 Webster]

Those men who set up for mortality without regard to religion, are generally but virtuous in part. --Swift. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • set about something — set about (something/doing something) to begin to do or deal with something. Beall has set about the delicate task of getting the companies to work together. After putting up the tent, she set about making a fire. I bought a computer, got a book… …   New idioms dictionary

  • set about doing something — set about (something/doing something) to begin to do or deal with something. Beall has set about the delicate task of getting the companies to work together. After putting up the tent, she set about making a fire. I bought a computer, got a book… …   New idioms dictionary

  • set about — (something/doing something) to begin to do or deal with something. Beall has set about the delicate task of getting the companies to work together. After putting up the tent, she set about making a fire. I bought a computer, got a book of… …   New idioms dictionary

  • set about something — ˈset about sth | ˌset about ˈdoing sth derived no passive to start doing sth • She set about the business of cleaning the house. • We need to set about finding a solution. Main entry: ↑setderived …   Useful english dictionary

  • set about doing something — ˈset about sth | ˌset about ˈdoing sth derived no passive to start doing sth • She set about the business of cleaning the house. • We need to set about finding a solution. Main entry: ↑setderived …   Useful english dictionary

  • set about — ► set about 1) start doing something with vigour or determination. 2) Brit. informal attack. Main Entry: ↑set …   English terms dictionary

  • set about — index assume (undertake), endeavor, occupy (engage), undertake Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • set about somebody — ˈset about sb derived (BrE, old fashioned, informal) to attack sb Main entry: ↑setderived …   Useful english dictionary

  • set about — verb 1. begin to deal with (Freq. 3) approach a task go about a difficult problem approach a new project • Syn: ↑go about, ↑approach • Derivationally related forms: ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • set about — phrasal verb [transitive] Word forms set about : present tense I/you/we/they set about he/she/it sets about present participle setting about past tense set about past participle set about set about something to begin doing something, especially… …   English dictionary

  • set about — v. 1) (E) ( to begin ) he set about to undo the damage that he had caused 2) (G) ( to begin ) we set about working on the project * * * [ setə baʊt] (E) ( to begin ) he set about to undo the damage that he had caused (G) ( to begin ) we set about …   Combinatory dictionary

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