set-to
noun
a usually brief, sharp fight or argument.
set-to
American
[set-too]
/ ˈsɛtˌtu /
noun
-
set-tos
plural
set to
British
verb
-
to begin working
-
to start fighting
noun
set to
Idioms
-
Apply oneself, begin, work energetically, as in We set to revamping our policy on child care , or She set to studying for the bar exam . [Early 1400s]
-
Begin fighting, as in Both of them were furious, and they set to immediately . [First half of 1700s]
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of set-to
First recorded in 1735–45; noun use of verb phrase set to
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.
See Examples For:
Black leaders and groups sponsored the first Black float, “Freedom Bursts Forth,” for the 1964 parade, after a very public set-to over the parade’s absence of people of color.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 27, 2022
Old Trafford is the venue for tonight’s set-to between Manchester United and Southampton.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 2, 2021
What was most striking about this set-to was how much Warren seemed to be enjoying it.
From The New Yorker ● May 17, 2016
I called Mr. Smith about our set-to in 2010.
From New York Times ● Aug. 24, 2014
While the sheriff and I have a little set-to, you water your ponies and dust off, and be ready for cold potatoes.
From The Captain of the Gray-Horse Troop by Hamlin Garland
The parties had been set to negotiate in late August, but Bonta pulled the plug on those sessions, accusing Paramount of leaking misinformation and “playing games.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
Don't pack away your summer clothes just yet as warmer and drier weather could be set to return to the UK next week.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Walter and Boehly each own about 12.5% of Chelsea, meaning they are set to split the proceeds equally and generate a small profit on the deal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is set to contribute $10 billion while the Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi’s L’imad Holding Co. will separately add $7 billion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
Seven typed Stormville, Amendment S, and the article that popped up made Seven slap her hand over her mouth: It said that the Stormville council had been set to vote on Amendment S too.
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
It’s qualitatively different from the kind of tiredness that comes from an afternoon of set-tos and whining when you and your kid are stuck in a room together.
From Slate ● Feb. 22, 2019
During the day he cares for the inmates, consoling them, moderating their set-tos and tenderly putting them, when the time comes, to sleep.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2018
But the formal strictures of such set-tos mask the fact that debate, in its loosest form, is something most people engage in almost daily.
From BBC ● Apr. 14, 2010
And so are director Wes Craven's inventive stagings of these set-tos.
From Time Magazine Archive
I have never been anything else but complaisant in the little set-tos with your father, Miss Genevieve.
From The City of Numbered Days by Francis Lynde
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.
