setbacks

Noun

setback (plural setbacks)

1. An obstacle, delay, disadvantage, or blow (an adverse event which slows down, or prevents progress towards a desired outcome).
   • After some initial setbacks, the expedition went safely on its way.

   Synonyms:

   rebuff, reversal

2. (broadly) Any adverse event, defeat, or impediment of progress.
3. (US) The required distance between a structure and a road.
4. A step-like recession in a wall.
   • Setbacks were initially used for structural reasons, but now are often mandated by land use codes.

   Synonyms:

   stepback

5. An offset to the temperature setting of a thermostat to cover a period when more or less heating is required than usual.
   • Fuel savings from thermostat setbacks have long been accepted as fact, but little documentation existed to support it.1980, Popular Science, volume 217, number 4
6. (archaic, possibly) A backset; a countercurrent; an eddy.

See all 7 meanings of setback