setout

noun set·out \ ˈset-ˌau̇t \

|Updated on: 12 Aug 2018

Examples: setout in a Sentence

Definition of setout

1 a (1) : array, display

(2) : arrangement, layout

b : buffet, spread

c : turnout 5

2 : party, entertainment

3 : beginning, outset

Examples of setout in a Sentence

the setout of the stations at the polling place was a little confusing

Recent Examples of setout from the Web

And yeah, there’s some seriousness here (Lou’s would-be squeeze has apparently been kidnapped by an abusive ex), but the overall tone is light and playful, especially as Lou and his friend setout to become detectives.

— will nevin, OregonLive.com, "WW #98: A dark comic comfort in unsure political times," 17 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'setout.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of setout

circa 1807

in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

setout Synonyms

Synonyms

arrangement, configuration, conformation, format, formation, layout, setup;

Related Words

design, plan, scheme;

composition, constitution, getup, makeup;

build, construction, structure;

set out

verb

Definition of set out

transitive verb

1 a : to arrange and present graphically or systematically

b : to mark out (something, such as a design) : lay out the plan of

2 : to state, describe, or recite at length

distributed copies of a pamphlet setting out his ideas in full
—S. F. Mason

3 : to begin with a definite purpose : intend, undertake

intransitive verb

: to start out on a course, a journey, or a career

set out across the country

See set out defined for kids

Examples of set out in a Sentence

in his inaugural address, the president set out his vision for the nation over the next four years

Recent Examples of set out from the Web

Walkers will set out at 8:30 a.m. and the race will follow at 9 a.m. The first 250 registrants receive a free race T-shirt and the first, second and third place male and female finishers will each receive a cash award.

— Courant Community, "Community News For The Putnam-Killingly Edition," 10 July 2018
The federal program has set out to blanket the nation with the new cards by April 2019.

— erin arvedlund, Philly.com, "Live in Pa. and don't have your new Medicare card? Call the agency right away," 5 July 2018
Peter Neubauer may have set out to study identity formation, but after his subjects found out they'd been separated, this became the central fact of their identity.

— j.r. jones, Chicago Reader, "Triplets ripped from family in a Nazi-like experiment, probed in Three Identical Strangers," 5 July 2018
Jonathan French has set out to challenge that convention, and the moral simplifications that go with it.

— tom shippey, WSJ, "Science Fiction: A New Novel Destined to Be a Classic," 28 June 2018
But the Helms hadn't set out to create defensible space.

— anne ryman, azcentral, "5 years later: 5 new things about fire that killed Granite Mountain Hotshots firefighters," 24 June 2018
Bailey has set out to tackle a Gordian knot in this book.

— tori telfer, Longreads, "‘I Had Nothing To Do With It But Have Been Punished’: Issac Bailey On His Brother Moochie, the Murderer," 22 June 2018
On March 16, 2009, the young mother had set out with her boyfriend, Steve Nichols, to hike the popular Eagle Creek Trail along Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge.

— christine pelisek, PEOPLE.com, "'He Is Either Going to Give Me a Ring or Throw Me Off a Cliff,' a Mom Allegedly Said Before Fatal Hike," 15 June 2018
Some businesses in town, including the Shades of Gray Boutique, The Ozz Emporium and Jones' Truck Plaza, have set out donation jars.

— max londberg, kansascity, "Mom, dad grieve their 3 children killed in Ozarks fire: 'They were very loved'," 7 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'set out.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.