Word.ws English Dictionary

set in train

set in train verb: to start a process.

Verb

set in train (third-person singular simple present sets in train, present participle setting in train, simple past and past participle set in train)

  1. To start a process.
    • Elaborate preparations for the war of October, 1973, were then set in train, with full Soviet participation, behind a brilliantly executed program of deception and surprise.1978, Clark M. Clifford, Eugene Victor Rostow, Barbara Wertheim Tuchman, The Palestine Question in American History, page 97
    • He set in train some changes to prepare the villa for the arrival of the two women, and left with Emrys for Paris to hunt down master chef, René, who had once worked for his father.2016, Mary S. Lovell, The Riviera Set
    Synonyms:
    put in train

Synonyms of set in train

  • put in train

Forms of set in train

third-person singular presentsets in train
present participlesetting in train
past participleset in train
pastset in train

Questions about set in train

What does set in train mean?
Set in train means to start a process.
What part of speech is set in train?
Set in train is a verb.
What is the past tense of set in train?
The past tense of set in train is set in train.

Words near set in train in the dictionary

  1. set functions
  2. set in
  3. set in motion
  4. set in one's ways
  5. set in stone
  6. set in train
  7. set light
  8. set list
  9. set lists
  10. set loose
  11. set menu

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: set in train (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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