setter

American  

[set-er] / ˈsɛt ər /

noun

• setters
  plural

1. a person or thing that sets.

2. one of any of several breeds of hunting dogs that originally had the habit of crouching when game was scented but that are now trained to stand stiffly and point the muzzle toward the scented game.

3. Volleyball. a player who lofts the ball high for a teammate near the net to spike.

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setter British  

/ ˈsɛtə /

noun

1. any of various breeds of large gun dog, having silky coats and plumed tails See English setter Gordon setter Irish setter

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• setters
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of setter

late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; see origin at set, -er ¹

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Explanation

A setter is a breed of dog that's sporty and good at hunting. Most setters are energetic, friendly dogs with long, silky hair. Setters have been around since the 1400s, bred to be experts at catching the scent of a pheasant or quail in the air. Well-trained Irish and English setters assist hunters by standing absolutely still when they smell game birds, originally crouching or setting to indicate where they were. Another kind of setter is someone who places, or sets, the letters and numbers in typeface, lining up the words in a newspaper headline before it's printed, for example.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

setter setters

The rise in bond yields over recent months is unlikely to cool the U.K. economy enough to tame inflation, Bank of England rate setter Catherine L. Mann said Thursday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

China is a price setter for fertilizer inputs like sulfur coming out of the Gulf.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026

The central midfielder is Panama's tempo setter and creative spark, working tirelessly in and out of possession and showcasing an impressive ability to wriggle out of tight spaces and drive the team upfield.

From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026

“Chemistry,” setter Tommy Spalding said about the Sea Hawks’ triumph.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026

We’d have a setter dog and a couple stripe cats, but you gotta watch out them cats don’t get the little rabbits.”

From "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck

"The biggest challenge is to get trusted question setters," he says.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

Nevertheless, ECB rate setters have in recent weeks been balancing the discomfort of inflation still above the bank’s 2% target alongside signs that the impact of the surge in energy prices is softening.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026

That could assuage ECB rate setters who fear the energy shock since the start of the Iran war could lead to more persistent second-round inflationary effects, such as through increased wage demands.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

The ECB held its key rate at 2.0% last week, but President Christine Lagarde said that rate setters had discussed the possibility of a rate hike.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 4, 2026

The glossy pages of succeeding months blossom around it: landscapes of fluted mountains for 1964; a curious collection of Irish setters and pugs in 1969; twelve varieties of jasmine for each month of 1973.

From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García

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