set
/sɛt/
"set" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“set” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #234 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #234
- frequency rank, English
- 3
- letters
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To put (something) down, to rest.
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
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for set is 3 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /sɛt/. Corpus data places it at rank #234 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 47 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
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.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “set”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-E-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /sɛt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “so” - see the side-by-side comparison. set vs so
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.