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

• sit
• seat
• put

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

Gi-hun reluctantly sets down the child and lets Myung-gi pick her up and bring her over to the third pillar. —Jennifer Maas, Variety, 27 June 2025

The 22-year-old, who recently won his fifth grand slam by coming from two sets down to beat Jannik Sinner in the longest French Open final in history, then had to fight back from 4-2 down in the third set, eventually sealing the win on his third match point. —Matias Grez, CNN Money, 20 June 2025

The Resilience Lander will set down in the area below Timaeus, to the left of Archytas, fairly close to the line dividing the dayside and nightside of the lunar surface, known as the terminator. —Anthony Wood, Space.com, 4 June 2025

The old mark of five was set in 1999. 2002 — The Diamondbacks set down the Giants, 9-4, behind Randy Johnson. —Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for set down

• adown
• blowdown
• breakdown
• countdown
• crackdown
• crosstown
• downtown
• drawdown
• dropdown
• facedown
• godown
• hometown

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