set-to

[ set-too ]

/ ˈsɛtˌtu /

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See synonyms for set-to on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural set-tos.

a usually brief, sharp fight or argument.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of set-to

First recorded in 1735–45; noun use of verb phrase set to

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use set-to in a sentence

When cities started adding chlorine to their water supplies, in the early 1900s, it set off public outcry.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
Submission is set in a France seven years from now that is dominated by a Muslim president intent on imposing Islamic law.
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President|Pierre Assouline|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
In the last year, her fusion exercise class has attracted a cult following and become de rigueur among the celebrity set.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze|Lizzie Crocker|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I wonder what that lady is doing now, and if she knows what she set in motion with Archer?
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISIS|Marlow Stern|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Empire will be hate-watched and may set off some conversations on its way from fading from our minds.
‘Empire’ Review: Hip-Hop Musical Chairs with an Insane Soap Opera Twist|Judnick Mayard|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
You would not think it too much to set the whole province in flames so that you could have your way with this wretched child.
St. Martin's Summer|Rafael Sabatini
Each day she resolved, "To-morrow I will tell Felipe;" and when to-morrow came, she put it off again.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
I take the Extream Bells, and set down the six Changes on them thus.
Tintinnalogia, or, the Art of Ringing|Richard Duckworth and Fabian Stedman
All the operations of her brain related themselves somehow to to-morrow afternoon.
Hilda Lessways|Arnold Bennett
She set off down Trafalgar Road in the mist and the rain, glad that she had been compelled to walk.
Hilda Lessways|Arnold Bennett

British Dictionary definitions for set-to

set to

verb (intr, adverb)

to begin working

to start fighting

noun set-to

informal a brief disagreement or fight

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with set-to

set to

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]