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Synonyms

set upon

British  

verb

  1. (intr, preposition) to attack

    three thugs set upon him
"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
set upon Idioms  

  1. see set on.

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.

This being “Primal,” they’re set upon by a group of diminutive flesh-eaters with jagged teeth, igniting a life-or-death skirmish that, miraculously, steals the viewer’s breath.

From Salon • Feb. 1, 2026

“From that moment, because of the way that Guillermo wills magic into the world and into his life, I feel like there was some kind of curse set upon me,” the actor says.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 16, 2025

As civil rights cases came before him, he set upon a path of trying to learn about the history of race in this country.

From Slate • Jan. 6, 2025

Mr Amro was carrying commercially purchased goods from the West Bank to Gaza when he was set upon.

From BBC • May 25, 2024

The other rabbit evidently had no fear that they might set upon him, hrair to one, and kill him.

From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams

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.