set in motion

Idioms  

1. Start something moving, give impetus to something, as in A press conference set the new project in motion. It is also put as set the wheels in motion, as in Let's set the wheels in motion for the new library wing. This idiom dates from about 1800. It was preceded by put in motion, which dates from the mid-1600s.

---

Example Sentences

Despite this error, a new Cambridge study explains that the map's appearance in print helped set in motion ideas about territory and borders that still influence thinking today.

From Science Daily

Khanna said he believes the letter set in motion the push that ultimately led Comer to subpoena the estate.

From Los Angeles Times

The passage of the redistricting measure triggered a statewide game of musical chairs, setting in motion the chairs as well as the players.

From Los Angeles Times

The bill set in motion a fierce period of competition and market consolidation.

From Los Angeles Times

In the spring of 2011, when revolution swept the Middle East and Syrians filled the streets demanding change, Bashar al-Assad’s government set in motion a campaign of arrests designed to instill fear in the population.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• commence
• create
• do
• establish
• found
• go ahead
• go into
• inaugurate
• initiate
• introduce
• launch
• lead
• make
• open
• prepare
• produce
• set up
• start
• undertake