setback

1 of 2

noun

set·​back ˈset-ˌbak 

1

: a checking of progress

2

: defeat, reverse

3

: pitch entry 4 sense 7

4

: a placing of a face of a building on a line some distance to the rear of the building line or of the wall below

also : the area produced by a setback

5

: automatic scheduled adjustment to a lower temperature setting of a thermostat

6

: the distance of a structure or other feature (such as a well or septic system) from the property line or other feature

set back

2 of 2

verb

set back; setting back; sets back

transitive verb

1

: to slow the progress of : hinder, delay

2

: cost

a new suit will set you back $200

Synonyms of setback

Noun

• reversal
• reverse

Examples of setback in a Sentence

Noun

Despite some early setbacks, they eventually became a successful company.

The explorers persevered despite suffering setbacks that would have discouraged those with lesser ambition.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

In another setback to Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s bid to audit the Legislature, a high court judge on Tuesday denied her motion to obtain a special assistant attorney general to represent her in court. —State House News Service, Boston Herald, 4 Mar. 2026

The supervisors formally began the process of closing the Men’s Central Jail in 2021, but progress has been slow and faced numerous setbacks, including a spike in the jails’ population following the passage of Proposition 36, which increased penalties for certain drug and theft crimes. —Jason Henry, Daily News, 4 Mar. 2026

Verb

Plans show classrooms, staff and administration space, collaboration areas, a cafeteria and a gym in a building set back off Blue Parkway and Colbern Road. —Nathan Pilling march 3, Kansas City Star, 3 Mar. 2026

Iran’s enrichment program was set back in the June 2025 airstrikes, says Ian Stewart of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. —Dan Vergano, Scientific American, 2 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1674, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1600, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for setback

• aback
• anzac
• attack
• backpack
• backtrack
• bareback
• blackjack
• brownback
• buyback
• callback
• cognac
• comeback

Kids Definition

setback

noun

set·​back ˈset-ˌbak 

: a slowing of progress : a temporary defeat