Word.ws English Dictionary

setting back

setting back is the present participle and gerund of set back.

Meaning of set back

Verb

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

  1. (transitive) To delay or obstruct.
    • I expect it will set us back by a day or so, but I think a side trip will be worthwhile.
  2. (transitive) To remove from or allow distance.
    • Set it back from the road by twenty or thirty feet.
  3. (transitive) To install or position behind a boundary or surface, or in a recess.
    • The statue was set back in a niche.
  4. (idiomatic, transitive) To cost money.
    • How much do you suppose that fancy dress set her back?
  5. To reverse, go backwards.
    • Before the platforms were extended up to the actual junction, branch trains had to set back into a bay.1939 December, John D. Hewitt, “Some Notable British Main Lines: II. Salisbury and Exeter, S.R.”, in Railway Magazine, page 412

Questions about setting back

What is setting back the present participle and gerund of?
Setting back is the present participle and gerund of set back.

Words near setting back in the dictionary

  1. setting aright
  2. setting aside
  3. setting at defiance
  4. setting at naught
  5. setting at nought
  6. setting back
  7. setting by
  8. setting by the ears
  9. setting coat
  10. setting coats
  11. setting dog

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: setting back (page history and authors); set back (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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