setoff
Americannoun
-
setoffs
plural
-
something that counterbalances or makes up for something else, as compensation for a loss.
-
Accounting. a counterbalancing debt or claim, especially one that cancels an amount a debtor owes.
-
Also called offset. Architecture.
-
a reduction in the thickness of a wall.
-
a flat or sloping projection on a wall, buttress, or the like, below a thinner part.
-
-
something used to enhance the effect of another thing by contrasting it, as an ornament.
-
Printing. offset.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of setoff
First recorded in 1615–25; noun use of verb phrase set off
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.
Peck didn’t allow the setoff, saying required “mutuality” was lacking.
From BusinessWeek ● Oct. 18, 2011
Even though a triangular setoff may be permissible under state law, it doesn’t work in bankruptcy because “the Bankruptcy Code imposes its own strict requirements,” Peck said.
From BusinessWeek ● Oct. 6, 2011
Peck said that bankruptcy law requires mutuality, meaning that setoff only exists between the same two companies.
From BusinessWeek ● Oct. 6, 2011
Because there was no right of setoff in the first place, there was nothing for the safe harbor to protect.
From BusinessWeek ● Oct. 6, 2011
Three weeks later I received a letter announcing that I had a two-year setoff until seeing them again.
From "Hole in My Life" by Jack Gantos
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.
