setback
/ˈsɛtbæk/noun
setback is spelled S-E-T-B-A-C-K: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.3 times per million words in written English, the 17,813th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “set back vs setback” about 10 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, setback means “An obstacle, delay, disadvantage, or blow (an adverse event which slows down, or prevents progress towards a desired outcome)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of setback is setbacks.
How many letters and syllables are in setback?
| Letters | 7: S-E-T-B-A-C-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.3 times per million words; the 17,813th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search |
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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is setback?
Setback appears 2.3 times per million words in written English, the 17,813th 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 setback?
- /ˈsɛtbæk/
Setback has 2 syllables (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-setback.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with setback
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: set back (one word or two).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of setback
- setbacks plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does setback mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An obstacle, delay, disadvantage, or blow (an adverse event which slows down, or prevents progress towards a desired outcome).
After some initial setbacks, the expedition went safely on its way.
- 2
Any adverse event, defeat, or impediment of progress.
- 3
USThe required distance between a structure and a road.
- 4
A step-like recession in a wall.
Setbacks were initially used for structural reasons, but now are often mandated by land use codes.
- 5
An offset to the temperature setting of a thermostat to cover a period when more or less heating is required than usual.
- 6
archaicA backset; a countercurrent; an eddy.
- 7
archaicA backset; a check; a repulse; a relapse.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Setback in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense adverse event, obstacle:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | contretemps, obstacle |
| German | Rückschlag, Hindernis |
| Portuguese | contratempo, contrariedade |
| Spanish | contratiempo, descalabro, varapalo, mazazo, percance |
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 setback come from?
Deverbal from set back. Compare drawback.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).