set
/sɛt/
"set" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“set” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #234) as a verb. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.
- #234
- frequency rank, English
- 6,566
- “S” headwords
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - To put (something) down, to rest.
Corpus desk
Index EN-set · set · English
set · rank #234 · 0 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-CORE #234
- LEN-MID 3 letters
- VOW-1 1 vowel
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 6,566
- PHOTO-FINISH having
Nearest frequency peer: having (-1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Frequency neighbourhood for “set”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- called
called
99,770 corpus weight
- different
different
99,769 corpus weight
- having
having
99,768 corpus weight
- set
set
99,767 corpus weight
- thought
thought
99,766 corpus weight
- done
done
99,765 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “set” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | set |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /sɛt/ |
| Letters | 3 |
| Frequency rank | #234 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “set” sits in English frequency
Easy to mix with look-alikes
The spelling risk for set is neighbouring look-alikes ("so", "SI", …), not just typos; it is averb pronounced /sɛt/. Frequency #234 among 6,566 “S” headwords. 47 recorded senses keep meaning in play.
No generated misspelling entries exist for set in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "so", "SI", "SS", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: 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”). The correct English form is set, spelled S-E-T.
Definition
- 1To put (something) down, to rest.
- 2To attach or affix (something) to something else, or in or upon a certain place.
- 3To put in a specified condition or state; to cause to be.
- 4To start (a fire).
- 5To cause to stop or stick; to obstruct; to fasten to a spot.
- 6To determine or settle.
- 7To adjust.
- 8To punch (a nail) into wood so that its head is below the surface.
- 9To arrange with dishes and cutlery, to set the table.
- 10To introduce or describe.
- 11To locate (a play, etc.); to assign a backdrop to, geographically or temporally.
- 12To compile, to make (a puzzle or challenge).
- 13To prepare (a stage or film set).
- 14To fit (someone) up in a situation.
- 15To arrange (type).
- 16To devise and assign (work) to.
- 17To direct (the ball) to a teammate for an attack.
- 18To solidify.
- 19To render stiff or solid; especially, to convert into curd; to curdle.
- 20Of a heavenly body, to disappear below the horizon of a planet, etc, as the latter rotates.
- 21To defeat a contract.
- 22To begin to move; to go forth.
- 23To produce after pollination.
- 24To be fixed for growth; to strike root; to begin to germinate or form.
- 25To sit (be in a seated position).
- 26To rest or lie somewhere, on something, etc.; to occupy a certain place.
- 27To hunt game with the aid of a setter.
- 28Of a dog, to indicate the position of game.
- 29To apply oneself; to undertake earnestly.
- 30To fit music to words.
- 31To place plants or shoots in the ground; to plant.
- 32To become fixed or rigid; to be fastened.
- 33To have a certain direction of motion; to flow; to move on; to tend.
- 34To acknowledge a dancing partner by facing him or her and moving first to one side and then to the other, while she or he does the opposite.
- 35To place or fix in a setting.
- 36To put in order in a particular manner; to prepare.
- 37To extend and bring into position; to spread.
- 38To give a pitch to, as a tune; to start by fixing the keynote.
- 39To reduce from a dislocated or fractured state.
- 40To sit or lie (easily etc.) on the stomach; to be digested in a certain manner.
- 41To lower into place and fix solidly, as the blocks of cut stone in a structure.
- 42To wager in gambling; to risk.
- 43To adorn with something infixed or affixed; to stud; to variegate with objects placed here and there.
- 44To value; to rate; used with at.
- 45To establish as a rule; to furnish; to prescribe; to assign.
- 46To suit; to become.
- 47To cause (a domestic fowl) to sit on eggs to brood.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how set appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Set the tray there.
He helped his mother set the table for lunch.
Etymology
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”).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "set", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.