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

a

: ordain, establish

b

: to put in writing

7

a

: regard, consider

set him down as a liar

b

: attribute

Synonyms

• seat
• sit

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

The trustees of the joint fund will have to decide exactly how to apportion the money, as that formula is not set down in the tentative agreement. —Gene Maddaus, Variety, 9 Nov. 2023

This Costway three-piece hardside option is the biggest deal at 68 percent off, bringing the entire set down to just $134. —Lauren Fischer, Travel + Leisure, 24 Oct. 2023

That order sheet would get carried by hand—on paper—to a computerized cutting machine, where an employee would set down a roughly pre-shaped slab of polyurethane foam, enter numerical values generated by my custom order, and have the machine carve it to size. —Bydaniel Duane, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2023

Jason Foley followed with a perfect seventh inning, needing just 14 pitches to set down New York in order. —Ryan Ford, Detroit Free Press, 7 Sep. 2023

Six months later, the two spacecraft flew past Venus, each dropping a capsule that contained a lander that successfully set down on the hellish planet’s surface, as well as a balloon that, when released, floated through the atmosphere. —Anton Troianovski, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2023

Mexican, Colombian, and Balkan cartels have set down roots in Ecuador and operate with assistance from local criminal gangs. —Regina Garcia Cano and Gonzalo Solano, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 Oct. 2023

Heads turn, wine glasses are set down, and disbelief settles across the room. —Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 12 Oct. 2023

The phone that recorded the video seemed to have been set down purposefully to capture the scene in the cramped cabin as smoke collects at first along the ceiling and then begins to fill the room. —Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2023

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Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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