set-to
Americannoun
plural
set-tosverb
-
to begin working
-
to start fighting
noun
-
Apply oneself, begin, work energetically, as in We set to revamping our policy on child care , or She set to studying for the bar exam . [Early 1400s]
-
Begin fighting, as in Both of them were furious, and they set to immediately . [First half of 1700s]
Etymology
Origin of set-to
First recorded in 1735–45; noun use of verb phrase set to
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.
Black leaders and groups sponsored the first Black float, “Freedom Bursts Forth,” for the 1964 parade, after a very public set-to over the parade’s absence of people of color.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 27, 2022
Old Trafford is the venue for tonight’s set-to between Manchester United and Southampton.
From The Guardian • Feb. 2, 2021
What was most striking about this set-to was how much Warren seemed to be enjoying it.
From The New Yorker • May 17, 2016
Back in the United States, Nixon, poised to run for the presidency, gained stature as a tough anti-Communist in his set-to with Khrushchev, the leader of the Soviet Union.
From New York Times • Mar. 21, 2016
When we had that little set-to with Spain, Walker hiked out to the Coast; and didn’t show up again till after the California boys come home from Manila.
From Alec Lloyd, Cowpuncher by Gates, Eleanor
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
