Etymology : Middle English setten, from Old English settan; akin to Old High German sezzen to set, Old English sittan to sit
Pronunciation : 'set
Function : verb
Date : before 12th century
1. assemble; arrange; establish; operate; cause someone to fall victim to fraud; cause, make happen; frame an innocent person so that he appears guilty of a crime. (Slang) loud noise; swindle; trap; ambush; competition or game organized with an opponent who can be defeated without effort. arrangement, organization; scheme; camera position ready for a specific shot; configuration of hardware or software (Computers). establish, provide the money for something The newspaper company provided the money to set up the new travel magazine. set up well established and ready to function; "things i can do now that i'm set up" v.
2. set up or found; "she set up a literacy program" [syn: establish, found, launch] [ant: abolish].
3. make by putting pieces together; "she pieced a quilt" [syn: assemble, piece, put together] [ant: disassemble].
4. construct, build, or erect; "raise a barn" [syn: raise, erect, rear, put up] [ant: level].
5. get ready for a particular purpose or event; "set up an experiment"; "set the table"; "lay out the tools for the surgery" [syn: lay out, set].
6. put into a proper or systematic order; "arrange the flowers in the vase" [syn: arrange] [ant: disarrange].
7. begin, or enable someone else to begin, a venture by providing the means, logistics, etc.; "set up an election".
8. take or catch as if in a snare or trap; "i was set up!"; "the innocent man was framed by the police" [syn: ensnare, entrap, frame].
9. cause to happen or occur; "the scientists set up a shockwave" [syn: effect, effectuate, bring about].
10. set up for use; "install the washer and dryer"; "we put in a new sink" [syn: install, instal, put in].
11. place; "her manager had set her up at the ritz" [syn: install, instal, establish].
12. arrange the outcome of by means of deceit; of elections [syn: rig].
13. erect and fasten; "pitch a tent" [syn: pitch].
14. arrange thoughts, ideas, temporal events, etc.; "arrange my schedule;" "set up one's life"; "i put these memories with those of bygone times" [syn: arrange, put, order].
15. equip with sails, masts, etc.; of ships [syn: rig, set].
16. make ready or suitable in advance for a particular purpose or for some use, event, etc; "get the children ready for school!"; "prepare for war" [syn: prepare, ready, gear up , set].
17. get ready for a particular purpose or event; "set up an experiment"; "set the table"; "lay out the tools for the surgery" begin, or enable someone else to begin, a venture by providing the means, logistics, etc.; "set up an election" well established and ready to function; "things I can do now that I'm set up".
18. 1. If you set something up, you create or arrange it. The two sides agreed to set up a commission to investigate claims Tell us when and why you started your business and how you went about setting it up. + setting up set·ting up The British government announced the setting up of a special fund.
19. If you set up a temporary structure, you place it or build it somewhere. They took to the streets, setting up roadblocks of burning tyres.
20. If you set up a device or piece of machinery, you do the things that are necessary for it to be able to start working. I set up the computer so that they could work from home.
21. If you set up somewhere or set yourself up somewhere, you establish yourself in a new business or new area. the mayor's scheme offers incentives to firms setting up in lower Manhattan He worked as a dance instructor in London before setting himself up in Bucharest Grandfather set them up in a liquor business.
22. If you set up home or set up shop, you buy a house or business of your own and start living or working there. They married, and set up home in Ramsgate.
23. If something sets up something such as a process, it creates it or causes it to begin. The secondary current sets up a magnetic field inside the tube.
24. If you are set up by someone, they make it seem that you have done something wrong when you have not. He claimed he had been set up after drugs were discovered at his home Maybe Angelo tried to set us up. see also:
set-up.