set down

verb

set down; setting down; sets down

transitive verb

1
: to cause to sit down : seat
2
: to place at rest on a surface or on the ground
3
: to suspend (a jockey) from racing
4
: to cause or allow to get off a vehicle : deliver
5
: to land (an airplane) on the ground or water
6
b
: to put in writing
7
a
: regard, consider
set him down as a liar
b

Examples of set down in a Sentence

set the toddler down in her seat set down the names of those in attendance
Recent Examples on the Web Soul & Surf, which started off as a pop-up camp, had already set down roots on its current site. Chandrahas Choudhury, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Mar. 2024 Root Development Remember that young plants are also setting down roots. Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 10 Jan. 2024 Aircraft which can bridge those distances, set down and alight from short, unprepared runways (or merely landing zones) on remote islands and elsewhere could offer in-demand capability. Eric Tegler, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023 Medvedev had already equaled a mark set by Pete Sampras in 1995 by reaching the Australian Open final after coming back twice from two sets down. John Pye, USA TODAY, 28 Jan. 2024 Alias is a special occasion from the moment the first gift from the chef is set down. Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 2 Feb. 2024 This mission set down in Jezero Crater, which was chosen because rocks resembling a river delta are draped over its rim—indicating that flowing water might have met a lake here in the past. Scott K. Johnson, Ars Technica, 18 Sep. 2023 After a 16-hour drive back to Moscow, Mr. Bilan set down his new cat’s crate, opened the door and began coaxing the animal onto a carpet in his home. Paul Sonne, New York Times, 22 Jan. 2024 In other words, the children of colonizers are permitted to colonize because of the iron law set down by a pro-immigration poem on a plaque on a piece of monumental sculpture, the Statute of the Statue of Liberty. Daniel Foster, National Review, 30 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'set down.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of set down was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near set down

Cite this Entry

“Set down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/set%20down. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

set down

verb
1
: to cause to sit down : seat
2
: to place at rest on a surface or on the ground
3
: to land (an airplane) on the ground or water
4
: establish sense 2
the government set down laws
5
: to put in writing

More from Merriam-Webster on set down

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