Word.ws English Dictionary

setting out

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

Meaning of set out

Verb

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

  1. (transitive) To explain something, or give exact details, usually in writing.
    • This contract sets out all the terms of the agreement as we discussed.
  2. (intransitive) To go out, leave.
    • Tomorrow we set out for America.
    Synonyms:
    set forth, take out
  3. (intransitive) To start an activity with the intention of finishing it.
    • He set out with the aim of writing the book in less than 3 months.
  4. (UK, transitive) To position, to put in a position
    • Following the acquisition of Di María, a winger, there was almost as much interest in the manner in which Van Gaal would set out his team as there was in the personnel. It was probably as well, considering only the goalkeeper David De Gea was retained from the XI who started Sunday’s draw at...26 August 2014, Richard Rae, “Manchester United humbled by MK Dons after Will Grigg hits double”, in The Guardian
  5. (obsolete, transitive) To arrange the necessary type into a printing press in preparation to run it.

Questions about setting out

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

Words near setting out in the dictionary

  1. setting one's shoulder to the wheel
  2. setting one's sights
  3. setting one's watch back
  4. setting one's watch by someone
  5. setting onto
  6. setting out
  7. setting out one's stall
  8. setting over
  9. setting pen to paper
  10. setting pole
  11. setting poles

Source and license

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