set to work

idiom

: to start working on something
She gave him directions and he immediately set to work.
often + on
He set to work on the project right away.

Examples of set to work in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The movie was completed by 1978, and Mr. Luddy, Ms. Waters and Mr. Herzog set to work to honor the bet. Penelope Green, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2023 Jordan brought three chassis (191/4, 191/5 and 191/6) to the Spa-Francorchamps circuit for the Belgian Grand Prix, and Schumacher immediately set to work in the 191/5, outpacing the team’s lead driver, Andrea De Cesaris, by 2.68 seconds in practice. Peter Jackson, Robb Report, 1 Feb. 2023 Meanwhile, boundless herds of sheep set to work constructing the barren landscape characteristic of the Highlands today. WIRED, 31 Jan. 2023 Over the next two years, Ms. Tayiana set to work redressing this. Carlos Mureithi, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Jan. 2023 So instead, the loggers set to work with handsaws and axes. Ellen Ruppel Shell, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Apr. 2022 They along with police officers and sheriff deputies set to work getting people moving. CBS News, 1 Jan. 2022 Bloom was originally set to work on the music with longtime CEG music producer Adam Schlesinger, but the Emmy winner died in April of 2020, due to coronavirus complications. Jolie Lash, EW.com, 9 June 2021 Over the past few years, a one-of-a-kind industry has sprouted around the procedure — which has the potential to save tens of thousands of lives each year — and set to work devising safer and more agreeable treatment methods, like pills and colonoscopies. Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 14 Aug. 2019

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

Dictionary Entries Near set to work

Cite this Entry

“Set to work.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/set%20to%20work. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.

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