set-off

Noun

set-off (plural set-offs)

1. (dated) Something used to improve the appearance; a decoration, an ornament.
2. The act of setting off on a journey; a departure, a start.
3. A counterclaim; a distinct claim filed or set up by the defendant against the plaintiff's demand.
4. (generally) Anything set off against another thing; a compensation, a counterbalancing circumstance.
   • D. Jerrold
     I do not contemplate such a heroine as a set-off to the many sins imputed to me as committed against woman.
   • [A]ll of them, of whatever age, require opportunities for rest and reading and indoor amusements, as a set-off against the constant strain on mind and body of looking after lunatics.1921, Montagu Lomax, The Experiences of an Asylum Doctor, London: Allen & Unwin, page 193
5. The situation where a bank or similar organisation repays itself money owed by an accountholder out of his or her account.
6. An offset.