set

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Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

noun A group of things of the same kind that belong together and are so used.
noun A group of persons sharing a common interest.
noun A group of books or periodicals published as a unit.
noun A number of couples required for participation in a square dance.
noun The movements constituting a square dance.
noun The scenery constructed for a theatrical performance.
noun The entire enclosure in which a movie is filmed; the sound stage.
noun A session of music, typically dance music, played before an intermission.
noun The music so played.
noun The collective receiving apparatus assembled to operate a radio or television.
noun Mathematics A collection of distinct elements having specific common properties.
noun A group of games constituting one division or unit of a match, as in tennis.
noun An offensive formation in football or basketball.
intransitive verb To put in a specified position or arrangement; place.
intransitive verb To put into a specified state.
intransitive verb To cause to begin an action.
intransitive verb To cause or assign (someone) to undertake an action or perform a service.
intransitive verb To incite to hostile feeling or action.
intransitive verb To position (oneself) so as to be ready to do something, such as start running a race.
intransitive verb To put into a stable or fixed position, as.
intransitive verb To position or secure so as to be fixed or immobile.
intransitive verb To put in a mounting; mount.
intransitive verb To apply jewels to; stud.
intransitive verb To cause (a hook) to become fixed in a fish's mouth.
intransitive verb To cause to be in proper, useful, or working condition, as.
intransitive verb To arrange for the consumption of a meal.
intransitive verb To adjust (an instrument or device) to a specific point or calibration.
intransitive verb To prepare (a trap) for catching prey.
intransitive verb To adjust (a saw) by deflecting the teeth.
intransitive verb Nautical To spread open to the wind.
intransitive verb To arrange scenery on (a theater stage).
intransitive verb To restore to a proper and normal state when dislocated or broken.
intransitive verb To apply equipment, such as curlers and clips, to (hair) in order to style.
intransitive verb To concentrate or direct (one's mind or attention, for example) on a purpose or goal.
intransitive verb To direct or focus (one's desires or hopes, for example) on a certain thing.
intransitive verb Sports To pass (a volleyball), usually with the fingertips, in an arc close to the net so that a teammate can drive it over the net.
intransitive verb To arrange (type) into words and sentences preparatory to printing; compose.
intransitive verb To transpose (text, for example) into type.
intransitive verb To compose (music) to fit a given text.
intransitive verb To write (words) to fit a given melodic line.
intransitive verb To appoint, establish, or determine, as.
intransitive verb To declare or demonstrate (a precedent or standard, for instance).

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English sette, from Old French, from Medieval Latin secta, retinue, from Latin, faction; see sect.]

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English setten, from Old English settan; see sed- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English set, sete, sette ("that which is set, the act of setting, seat"), from Old English set ("setting, seat, a place where people remain, habitation, camp, entrenchment, a place where animals are kept, stall, fold") and Old English seten ("a set, shoot, slip, branch; a nursery, plantation; that which is planted or set; a cultivated place; planting, cultivation; a setting, putting; a stopping; occupied land"), related to Old English settan ("to set"). Compare Middle Low German gesette ("a set, suite"), Old English gesetl ("assembly"). According to Skeat, in senses denoting a group of things or persons, representing an alteration of sept, from Old French sette ("a religious sect"), from Medieval Latin secta ("retinue"), from Latin secta ("a faction"). See sect.

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Examples

If we remember that the extension of a concept is something like the set of objects that fall under the concept, then we could replace Frege's talk of ˜extensions™ by talk of ˜sets™ and use the following ˜set notation™ to refer to the set of objects that when added to 4 yield 5 and the set of objects that when added to 22 yield 5, respectively:

Frege's Logic, Theorem, and Foundations for Arithmetic Zalta, Edward N. 2009
According to naÃ¯ve set theory, the functional expression ˜set of™ is indeed characterized by a putative abstraction principle.

Abstract Objects Rosen, Gideon 2001
In some parts of Bavaria such bushes are set up also at the houses of newly-married pairs, and the practice is only omitted if the wife is near her confinement; for in that case they say that the husband has set up a May-bush for himself.

Chapter 9. The Worship of Trees. § 2. Beneficent Powers of Tree-Spirits 1922
That looks at the * first item* in the selection set [index number 0], and then * removes it from the set* when it's done, and goes back and looks at the first item in what's left.

All Discussion Groups: Message List - root 2010
That looks at the * first item* in the selection set [index number 0], and then * removes it from the set* when it's done, and goes back and looks at the first item in what's left.

All Discussion Groups: Message List - root 2010
Remember when you could set the default Internet settings (e.g. home page, mail account settings) in one place and any savvy Mac app could get or * set* them transparently?

MacFixIt 2009
This code, along with some of its context in the file action_controller / routing / route_set. rb (from Rails version 2.1.1), is listed below. class RouteSet class Mapper def initialize (set) @set = set end def connect (path, options = {}) @set. add_route (path, options) end end def draw clear! yield Mapper. new (self) named_routes. install end def add_route (path, options = {})

doggdot.us 2008
This code, along with some of its context in the file action_controller / routing / route_set. rb (from Rails version 2.1.1), is listed below. class RouteSet class Mapper def initialize (set) @set = set end def connect (path, options = ) @set. add_route (path, options) end end def draw clear! yield Mapper. new (self) named_routes. install end def add_route (path, options = )

doggdot.us 2008
[_He points to the sky, set thick with brilliant stars, the moon having already set_.

Laura Secord, the heroine of 1812. A Drama. and Other Poems. Sarah Anne Curzon 1865
The term set point is often used to describe a physiological version of that same mechanism that controls our body temperature, weight, or any one of many other types of bodily homeostasis.

The Answer John Assaraf 2008

Comments

oroboros commented on the word set

Not completely sure about this yet, but I believe "set" has the longest definition in the OED (greatest number of pages).

December 1, 2006
nkocharh commented on the word set

Wasn't it "run" which had the greatest number of definitions?

December 13, 2006
oroboros commented on the word set

Could be; I still haven't found where I read or heard it. Eventually somebody will know...

December 13, 2006
sarra commented on the word set

The word set has a multitude of definitions in the English language (464 separate definitions according to the Oxford English Dictionary, making it the word with the highest number of definitions; its full definition contains over 10,000 words making it the longest definition in the OED).
Wikipedia

December 13, 2006
andrew.simone commented on the word set

shoot. wikipedia, that made it easy. I was simply going to look at my OED when I got home.

December 13, 2006
oroboros commented on the word set

Thanx to sarra. BTW, I found where I read it: The Meaning of Everything: the story of the OED by Simon Winchester. Great book, highly recommended...

December 13, 2006
sarra commented on the word set

If it helps, I read the fact somewhere when I was quite small and started looking up the length of the "set" entry in rather a lot of dictionaries afterward :)

December 13, 2006
andrew.simone commented on the word set

it really is nice to know there are more people like me in the world.

December 13, 2006
whichbe commented on the word set

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set_(mythology)

June 20, 2007
yarb commented on the word set

It's fun to compare the OED definition with the weirdnet one.

November 16, 2007
reesetee commented on the word set

News Flash from the OED website:
"Set (the verb) no longer the longest entry in the OED
For many years the verb to set has been cited as the longest entry in the OED. But a recheck shows that it has at last been toppled from this position. The longest entry in the revised matter is represented by the verb to make (published in June 2000). However, it is quite possible that set will regain its long-held position at the top of the league of long words when it comes itself to be revised.
In ranking order, the longest entries currently in the online Third Edition of the OED are: make (verb - revised), set (verb), run (verb), take (verb), go (verb), pre- (revised), non- (revised), over- (revised), stand (verb), red, and then point (the noun - revised)."

November 16, 2007
jennarenn commented on the word set

Zoiks! We're witnessing history in the making.

November 16, 2007
gangerh commented on the word set

An environment used for filming.

July 16, 2008
myth commented on the word set

I see the table is set for four.
Why that's nothing my alarm clock is set for eight. - G Marx

May 17, 2009
ruzuzu commented on the word set

I love that there's a collection of the longest definitions here. I'll take the whole set!

February 14, 2012
fbharjo commented on the word set

I don't know what to make of the OED's set in the long run, but whatever it is going to take, I am set to understand the point. I see red. (see Reesetee's comment on longest definitions onset)

February 14, 2012
GHibbs commented on the word set

The word set is also the past and presumably also the past participle of the verb set.

December 14, 2013
BamboozlePizzazz commented on the word set

Miscellaneous technical census

August 25, 2018

set

Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

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set

Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

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synonyms (958)

Words with the same meaning

equivalents (12)

Other words for 'set'

hypernyms (66)

Words that are more generic or abstract

hyponyms (12)

Words more specific or concrete

same context (54)

Words that are found in similar contexts

variants (6)

Variants

forms (2)

Forms

cross-references (168)

Cross-references

rhymes (143)

Words with the same terminal sound

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