set off
"set-off" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“set off” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To leave; to set out; to begin a journey or trip.
Corpus desk
Index EN-set-off · set off · English
set off · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "S" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | set off |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “set off” in English
Rare enough to double-check
set off is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 7 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for set off, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct English form is set off, spelled S-E-T- -O-F-F.
Definition
- 1To leave; to set out; to begin a journey or trip.
- 2To begin; to cause; to initiate.
- 3To cause to explode, let off.
- 4To put into an angry mood; to start (a person) ranting or sulking, etc.
- 5To enhance by emphasizing differences.
- 6To offset, to compensate for: to reduce the effect of, by having a contrary effect.
- 7To deface or soil the next sheet; said of the ink on a freshly printed sheet, when another sheet comes in contact with it before it has had time to dry.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how set off appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
He set off in search of better opportunities.
Considerable excitement was caused on the L.M.S.R. Aberdeen line out of Perth recently when a shunting engine in Perth North goods yard, whose driver and fireman were absent, was accidentally set in motion by a shunter and set off unattended on to the main line.
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.