Jump To:

• set-back
  set-back

  noun

  the interval by which a chain or tape exceeds the length being measured.
• set back
  set back

  verb

  to hinder; impede

set-back

American  

[set-bak] / ˈsɛtˌbæk /

noun

1. Surveying. the interval by which a chain or tape exceeds the length being measured.

2. setback.

---

set back British  

verb

1. to hinder; impede

2. informal to cost (a person) a specified amount

---

noun

1. anything that serves to hinder or impede

2. a recession in the upper part of a high building, esp one that increases the daylight at lower levels

3. Also called: offset.   setoff.  a steplike shelf where a wall is reduced in thickness

set back Idioms  

1. Slow down the progress of, hinder, as in The project was set back by the frequent absences of staff members . [First half of 1500s]

2. Cost, as in That car set me back twenty thousand dollars . [ Colloquial ; c. 1900]

3. Change to a lower level or earlier time, as in We set back the thermostat whenever we go on vacation , or On October 10 we have to set back the clocks . [First half of 1600s] Set back the clock is also used figuratively to mean “return to an earlier era,” as in He wished he could set back the clock to those carefree high-school days . Also see set forward .

---

Etymology

Origin of set-back

Special use of setback

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

set-back set back

"We're disappointed not to go through, albeit against a very good team, but we can't let this set-back affect our future," he said.

From Barron's ● Feb. 3, 2026

In a blog post published today about the delay, the CSA emphasized that this is less a set-back and more an extension to allow development for more platforms.

From The Verge ● Mar. 17, 2022

Stones' centre-back partner Maguire was also impressed with the way he responded to the set-back and feels he has now shed his reputation for regularly making high-profile mistakes.

From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2021

Here the board of the King County Flood Control District, composed of all nine Metropolitan King County Council members, approved in 2013 construction of a set-back levee with a rock-armored shore and steel wall.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 29, 2019

She had a button nose and a hard little set-back chin, a gripping jaw set on its course even though the angels of God argued against it.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

That didn’t only set back the Clippers, it set up the young Thunder for at least one NBA title run.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

China may be exempt in part because Trump has invited President Xi Jinping to a summit in Washington, where they will discuss “stabilizing” their relations, something a trade war would set back considerably.

From Slate ● Aug. 26, 2026

Alex Grinberg, a senior fellow focused on Iran at the Turan Research Center, said the war set back Iran significantly by eliminating infrastructure and people in the nuclear programme and imposing massive economic damage.

From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026

The talks were set back recently when the two sides began fighting again for three days.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

It turns back on, its eyes blinking, its data gathering set back to normal.

From "Warcross" by Marie Lu