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• 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.

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set back British  

verb

1. to hinder; impede

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

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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 .

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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

It is so easy to be emotional but when you zoom out, the defeat against Brighton - which brought our 33-game unbeaten run to an end - was just a set-back.

From BBC ● Feb. 18, 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

The idea has sparked debate, the sources said, with some officials worried that a pause would set back the department’s efforts to hire more police officers and replenish its dwindling ranks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

“If that had been a bust, I don’t know what would have happened. We’d have been set back a decade or more in terms of developing the sport at the highest level.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

That incident could have significantly set back the relationship between the government and SpaceX, according to Loverro, who is now president of Loverro Consulting.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 11, 2026

The launch, originally planned for 2025, was set back by delivery delays from Boeing, which has suffered a series of manufacturing and safety problems in recent years.

From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026

It was hard to avoid going past, since it was off the only road going north of the village, but it was set back too far from the road for the fools to see.

From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack