set out
Britishverb
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to present, arrange, or display
he set the flowers out in the vase
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to give a full account of; explain exactly
he set out the matter in full
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to plan or lay out (a garden, etc)
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(intr) to begin or embark on an undertaking, esp a journey
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Begin an earnest attempt, as in He set out to prove his point , or We accomplished what we set out to do . [Late 1800s]
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Lay out systematically, as in She set out all the reports in chronological order . [Second half of 1500s]
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Display for exhibition or sale, as in The Japanese restaurant set out samples of all the different kinds of sushi . [c. 1300]
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Plant, as in It was time to set out the seedlings . [Early 1800s]
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Begin a journey, as in They set out at dawn . [Late 1500s]
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.
The researchers then set out to confirm that the enzyme contained a molybdenum metallocofactor.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026
"We set out to identify cells that push the self-destruct button but survive anyway," Braun explains.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026
He set out to use the firm’s commodity-chemical sales to finance what Mr. Werth calls “a more innovative organization for discovering new products.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Chancellor John Healey is due to set out his Budget on 28 October against a backdrop of rising inflation and global energy prices.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
She set out with navigator Vera Belik, who’d be able to help her with the flying if she needed to.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
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.
