set down
Britishverb
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to write down or record
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to judge, consider, or regard
he set him down as an idiot
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(foll by to) to ascribe; attribute
his attitude was set down to his illness
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to reprove; rebuke
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to snub; dismiss
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to allow (passengers) to alight from a bus, taxi, etc
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Place in a lower position, as in Set the baby down here , or Set the bags down on the hall table . [Late 1400s]
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Put in writing, record, as in Just set down all the facts as you remember them . [Second half of 1500s]
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Regard, consider, as in Just set him down as a fool . [Late 1700s]
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Assign to a cause, ascribe, as in Let's set down his error to inexperience . [Early 1800s]
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Land an aircraft, as in The pilot set the plane down hard on the runway . Also see put down .
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.
The chronological installation begins with Evans’s first two pen-and-ink drawings from about 1935: abstract radiating eyes, spirals, zigzags and squiggles—feverish doodles resembling ancient pictographic narratives set down in a trance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
Coco Gauff saved two match points as she fought from a set down to beat Mirra Andreeva and set up a US Open semi-final against incoming world number one Elena Rybakina.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
Inverclyde Council's repopulation strategy is based on trying to encourage them to set down roots here, as well as attracting other legal migrants and people who've been granted refugee status to move in.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Tongue-in-cheek title notwithstanding, though, the events of the film aren’t the sort of thing easily set down in a how-to guide.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
I set down the heavy sack, settled down under an old oak tree, and closed my eyes to think.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
