set in motion

Idioms  

1. Start something moving, give impetus to something, as in A press conference set the new project in motion. It is also put as set the wheels in motion, as in Let's set the wheels in motion for the new library wing. This idiom dates from about 1800. It was preceded by put in motion, which dates from the mid-1600s.

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Example Sentences

Iran refrained from acting against the strait for decades because it knew that doing so would set in motion things it didn’t want.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

The change that was set in motion during that visit would later become Universal Credit, a benefit that now supports more than eight million people.

From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026

The researchers found that the crystals, made from an iron-containing compound called heme, are set in motion by the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen.

From Science Daily • Mar. 19, 2026

Their grief and fury set in motion the countervailing force of justice that, no matter how belated, cannot be denied.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 26, 2026

Dieldrin has been the only chemical effective against the borer, but it has now set in motion a chain of disaster.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Related Words

• commence
• create
• do
• establish
• found
• go ahead
• go into
• inaugurate
• initiate
• introduce
• launch
• lead
• make
• open
• prepare
• produce
• set up
• start
• undertake