Use set for deliberate placement, especially when the thing stays where it is put.
Use set for deliberate placement, especially when the thing stays where it is put.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| She setted the vase on the shelf. | She set the vase on the shelf. |
| He set the keys to his pocket. | He put the keys in his pocket. |
| They sat the box by the door. | They set the box by the door. |
Use set for preparing a table, trap, scene, type, or hair for a particular use.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| Please set ready the table. | Please set the table. |
| The hunter setted a trap. | The hunter set a trap. |
| She set her hair with a homework plan. | She set her hair with rollers. |
Use set when a person, group, or result establishes what will count or happen.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| We setted the deadline for Friday. | We set the deadline for Friday. |
| The shop set the price in twenty pounds. | The shop set the price at twenty pounds. |
| She made a world record in the race. | She set a world record in the race. |
Use set for clocks, alarms, thermostats, software options, and variables that receive a chosen value.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| Set the alarm at seven tomorrow morning. | Set the alarm for seven tomorrow morning. |
| I setted the password yesterday. | I set the password yesterday. |
| The script sets x as 5. | The script sets x to 5. |
Use set in patterns such as set free, set on fire, and set in motion.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| The news set everyone to shock. | The news left everyone in shock. |
| The spark set fire the curtains. | The spark set the curtains on fire. |
| The judge setted the prisoner free. | The judge set the prisoner free. |
Use set for concrete, jelly, glue, dye, plaster, and broken bones becoming fixed or solid.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| The jelly setted in the fridge. | The jelly set in the fridge. |
| The doctor setted the bone. | The doctor set the bone. |
| The color set to the cloth after washing. | The color set in the cloth after washing. |
Use set for the sun and moon at the end of their visible path across the sky.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| The sun setted behind the hill. | The sun set behind the hill. |
| We set the moon at midnight. | The moon set at midnight. |
| The sun is seting now. | The sun is setting now. |
Use set for the fictional or dramatic setting, usually in the passive pattern be set in.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| The novel sets in Cairo. | The novel is set in Cairo. |
| The film is set at the 1920s. | The film is set in the 1920s. |
| The game setted in space. | The game is set in space. |
Use set for gems fixed in rings, metal, or another setting that holds them in place.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| The jeweller setted the diamond in gold. | The jeweller set the diamond in gold. |
| The ring was set by three rubies. | The ring was set with three rubies. |
| They set the pearl on silver securely. | They set the pearl in silver securely. |
Use set for grouped objects, matched items, data, and mathematical collections.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| I bought set of cups. | I bought a set of cups. |
| The data are a setted of numbers. | The data are a set of numbers. |
| This set contains in five elements. | This set contains five elements. |
Use set for the physical or designed environment where a performance or recording happens.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| Actors waited on the set of movie. | Actors waited on the set of the movie. |
| The set was beautifully. | The set was beautiful. |
| They built the scenery set with no props. | They built the set with no props. |
Use set for a major division of play made up of games, points, or rallies.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| She won the tennis set 1 point to 0. | She won the tennis set 6 games to 4. |
| The team won three sets of one goal. | The team won three sets in volleyball. |
| He setted the first set. | He won the first set. |
Use set for a performer’s block of material, especially when a show has breaks or multiple acts.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| The band played a set of one note. | The band played a short set of songs. |
| Her setted lasted thirty minutes. | Her set lasted thirty minutes. |
| The comedian sang a comedy set. | The comedian performed a comedy set. |
Use set mainly in compounds and older everyday phrases such as television set and radio set.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| We watched the news on a set of chairs. | We watched the news on a television set. |
| The radio setted stopped working. | The radio set stopped working. |
| A set receives broadcast signals on the tableware. | A television set receives broadcast signals. |
Use set with a number of reps, such as three sets of ten push-ups.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| I did ten sets of one push-up and called them reps. | I did one set of ten push-ups. |
| She completed three set of squats. | She completed three sets of squats. |
| Rest after every repetition set of one movement. | Rest after every set of repetitions. |
Use set for prices, times, plans, tables, and people or things that are ready.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| The meeting is setted for Monday. | The meeting is set for Monday. |
| Are you set with more coffee? | Are you all set for coffee? |
| The price is setting and cannot change. | The price is set and cannot change. |
Use set for fixed ideas, habits, expressions, and intentions.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| He is set at his ways. | He is set in his ways. |
| She is set in winning the prize. | She is set on winning the prize. |
| Their ideas are setted. | Their ideas are set. |
Use set for materials, food, colors, glue, and bones after they have become fixed or firm.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| The jelly is setting and fully set already. | The jelly is set and ready to serve. |
| The paint is setted now. | The paint is set now. |
| The broken bone is seting well. | The broken bone is setting well. |
Use set with the surrounding pattern that identifies the sense: set the table, set a price, set the alarm, the sun sets, a set of keys, on set, and all set each work differently.
Using setted for the past tense is wrong, because the past and past participle are both set.
From Middle English setten, from Old English settan, meaning to place or cause to sit, related to sit.
What is the past tense of set?
The past tense of set is set, not setted. The past participle is also set.
What does set mean as a verb?
As a verb, set can mean put in place, arrange, decide, adjust, cause a state, become firm, go below the horizon, locate a story, or fix a gem in place.
What does set mean as a noun?
As a noun, set can mean a group, a mathematical collection, stage scenery, a sports division, a performance session, a social circle, a receiver device, or exercise repetitions.
What does set mean as an adjective?
As an adjective, set means fixed, scheduled, ready, determined, unchanging, hardened, or permanent.
Is setted ever correct?
setted is not the standard past tense of set. It appears only in rare technical or dialect uses outside ordinary English.
What is the difference between set and sit?
set usually takes an object, as in set the cup down. sit usually means rest in a seated position, as in sit on the chair.
What is a set in mathematics?
In mathematics, a set is a collection of distinct elements, such as numbers, points, or other objects.
What does all set mean?
all set means ready, prepared, or needing nothing more, as in We are all set to leave.
Why is set so hard to define?
set is very old and has developed many linked uses around placing, fixing, arranging, grouping, and becoming ready or firm.
Social group
Usage
Use set for a recognizable social circle, often with a describing word before it.
Examples
Common mistakes
Similar words