set
/sɛt/verb, noun, adjective
set is spelled S-E-T: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 389 times per million words in written English, the 233rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, set means “To put (something) down, to rest” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in set?
| Letters | 3: S-E-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 389 times per million words; the 233rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is set?
Set appears 389 times per million words in written English, the 233rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce set?
- /sɛt/
Set has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-set.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with set
Sounds like: sett (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Also written: game, set and match, get ready, get set, go, sett.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with set?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as set.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: est, tse.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of set
- sets present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- setting participle, present
- more set comparative
- most set superlative
- setted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does set mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To put (something) down, to rest.
Set the tray there.
- 2
To attach or affix (something) to something else, or in or upon a certain place.
I have set my heart on running the marathon.
- 3
To put in a specified condition or state; to cause to be.
- 4
To start (a fire).
- 5
datedTo cause to stop or stick; to obstruct; to fasten to a spot.
to set a coach in the mud
- 6
To determine or settle.
to set the rent
- 7
To adjust.
I set the alarm at 6 a.m.
- 8
To punch (a nail) into wood so that its head is below the surface.
- 9
UKTo divide a class group in a subject according to ability
noun
- 1
A punch for setting nails in wood.
nail set
- 2
A device for receiving broadcast radio waves (or, more recently, broadcast data); a radio or television.
television set
- 3
Alternative form of sett (“a hole made and lived in by a badger”).
- 4
Alternative form of sett (“pattern of threads and yarns”).
- 5
Alternative form of sett (“piece of quarried stone”).
- 6
A small tuber or bulb used instead of seed, particularly onion sets and potato sets.
- 7
The amount by which the teeth of a saw protrude to the side in order to create the kerf.
- 8
A permanent change of shape caused by excessive strain, as from compression, tension, bending, twisting, etc.
the set of a spring
- 9
A young plant fit for setting out; a slip; shoot.
- 10
A rudimentary fruit.
- 11
The setting of the sun or other luminary; (by extension) the close of the day.
- 12
General movement; direction; drift; tendency.
- 13
A matching collection of similar things. (Note the similar meaning in Etymology 2, Noun.)
a set of tables
- 14
A collection of various objects for a particular purpose.
a set of tools
- 15
An object made up of several parts.
a set of steps
- 16
A collection of zero or more objects, possibly infinite in size, and disregarding any order or repetition of the objects which may be contained within it.
adjective
- 1
Fixed in position.
- 2
Rigid, solidified.
- 3
Ready, prepared.
on your marks, get set, go!; on your marks, set, go!
- 4
Intent, determined (to do something).
set on getting to his destination
- 5
Prearranged.
a set menu
- 6
Fixed in one’s opinion.
I’m set against the idea of smacking children to punish them.
- 7
Fixed in a certain style.
adjective
- 1
of a root, having a final i sound in certain forms, originating from a final laryngeal in Proto-Indo-European
noun
- 1
Gene for a human protein involved in apoptosis, transcription and nucleosome assembly.
- 2
Initialism of Simulated Emergency Test, an amateur radio training exercise.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Set in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | poser , sceller , fixer , régler , enfoncer , mettre |
| German | setzen, legen, stellen, aufstellen , festsetzen, festlegen |
| Portuguese | pôr, colocar , determinar , ajustar , pregar , dispor |
| Spanish | colocar , engastar, engarzar , montar, setear , configurar/poner para |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does set come from?
From Middle English setten, from Old English settan, from Proto-West Germanic *sattjan, from Proto-Germanic *satjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *sodéyeti, causative of *sed- (“to sit”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).