set out
Britishverb
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to present, arrange, or display
he set the flowers out in the vase
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to give a full account of; explain exactly
he set out the matter in full
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to plan or lay out (a garden, etc)
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(intr) to begin or embark on an undertaking, esp a journey
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Begin an earnest attempt, as in He set out to prove his point , or We accomplished what we set out to do . [Late 1800s]
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Lay out systematically, as in She set out all the reports in chronological order . [Second half of 1500s]
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Display for exhibition or sale, as in The Japanese restaurant set out samples of all the different kinds of sushi . [c. 1300]
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Plant, as in It was time to set out the seedlings . [Early 1800s]
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Begin a journey, as in They set out at dawn . [Late 1500s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The government said the new scheme will run throughout 2027 and is backed by £400m, but its announcement does not set out payments for individual operators.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Policies on this scale, which could run into several billions, would likely need to be set out in future budgets and spending reviews, alongside detailed plans about how they would be paid for.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
The researchers point out that the use of AI doesn’t necessarily mean workers accomplished what they set out to do, or saved time or money.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
It’s what she and countless other historians set out to do when they first started studying the past.
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026
And they all set out into the wilds of Brooklyn.
From I Survived the American Revolution, 1776 by Lauren Tarshis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
