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.

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Example Sentences

Mr. Ariosto convincingly argues that we are still in the early days of the revolution that Mr. Musk set in motion by developing the ability to reuse rockets.

From The Wall Street Journal

The researchers found that the crystals, made from an iron-containing compound called heme, are set in motion by the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen.

From Science Daily

Her partner initially came to her rescue and alerted the emergency services, setting in motion a huge operation to help Leah who had landed in a gorge of the River Llech.

From BBC

When players refused to sing the national anthem at a game in Australia, they set in motion a fateful series of events.

From The Wall Street Journal

It was a fateful decision, setting in motion a series of events that left them confronting the hardest decision of their lives.

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