Word.ws English Dictionary

setting on

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

Meaning of set on

Verb

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

  1. To attack.
    • Cassio hath here been set on in the dark.c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...
  2. To encourage someone, or an animal, to attack someone.
    • I will set the dogs on you, if you don't leave right now!
  3. To be determined to do or achieve something.
    • I had my mind pretty well set on working for a small company.
    Synonyms:
    set upon

Questions about setting on

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

Words near setting on in the dictionary

  1. setting in stone
  2. setting in train
  3. setting light
  4. setting loose
  5. setting off
  6. setting on
  7. setting on a pedestal
  8. setting on fire
  9. setting on foot
  10. setting one's cap at
  11. setting one's face against

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: setting on (page history and authors); set on (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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Cite this entry: “setting on.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/setting_on. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.