Word.ws English Dictionary

setting the wheels in motion

setting the wheels in motion is the present participle and gerund of set the wheels in motion.

Meaning of set the wheels in motion

Verb

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

  1. (idiomatic) to initiate a chain of events necessary to help one achieve a goal (more quickly)

Questions about setting the wheels in motion

What is setting the wheels in motion the present participle and gerund of?
Setting the wheels in motion is the present participle and gerund of set the wheels in motion.

Words near setting the wheels in motion in the dictionary

  1. setting the record straight
  2. setting the stage
  3. setting the table
  4. setting the Thames on fire
  5. setting the tone
  6. setting the wheels in motion
  7. setting the world on fire
  8. setting the world to rights
  9. setting time
  10. setting times
  11. setting to

Source and license

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