set out
Britishverb
-
to present, arrange, or display
he set the flowers out in the vase
-
to give a full account of; explain exactly
he set out the matter in full
-
to plan or lay out (a garden, etc)
-
(intr) to begin or embark on an undertaking, esp a journey
-
Begin an earnest attempt, as in He set out to prove his point , or We accomplished what we set out to do . [Late 1800s]
-
Lay out systematically, as in She set out all the reports in chronological order . [Second half of 1500s]
-
Display for exhibition or sale, as in The Japanese restaurant set out samples of all the different kinds of sushi . [c. 1300]
-
Plant, as in It was time to set out the seedlings . [Early 1800s]
-
Begin a journey, as in They set out at dawn . [Late 1500s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Graves said that no one believed in this business model when he first set out to open his restaurant.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026
Preparing to set out on a long car journey, naivety tends to get the best of us.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026
Bessent was due to set out details of the US plan on Monday, but it is unclear how much more economic pressure Washington can put on Tehran.
From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026
Deputy leader Richard Tice will set out plans to build 50,000 affordable social homes a year in a news conference on Monday, a policy which the party claims will require no new taxes or borrowing.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
“Which coven you got placed into was out of your hands. Doesn’t mean you didn’t achieve what you set out to,” Fox said.
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
