setoff
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 (def. 7).
Origin of setoff
1Words Nearby setoff
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for set off (1 of 2)
(intr) to embark on a journey
(tr) to cause (a person) to act or do something, such as laugh or tell stories
(tr) to cause to explode
(tr) to act as a foil or contrast to, esp so as to improve: that brooch sets your dress off well
(tr) accounting to cancel a credit on (one account) against a debit on another, both of which are in the name of the same person, enterprise, etc
(intr) to bring a claim by way of setoff
anything that serves as a counterbalance
anything that serves to contrast with or enhance something else; foil
another name for setback: See set back (def. 5)
a counterbalancing debt or claim offered by a debtor against a creditor
a cross claim brought by a debtor that partly offsets the creditor's claim: See also counterclaim
British Dictionary definitions for set-off (2 of 2)
printing a fault in which ink is transferred from a heavily inked or undried printed sheet to the sheet next to it in a pile: Also called (esp Brit): offset
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with setoff
Give rise to, cause to occur, as in The acid set off a chemical reaction. [Early 1600s]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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