set-aside

noun

ˈset-ə-ˌsīd 

1

: something (such as a portion of receipts or production) that is set aside for a specified purpose

2

: a program requiring a percentage of opportunities (as for jobs or funding) to be reserved for an underrepresented group

Examples of set-aside in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That’s a huge number, a three-fold increase in housing set-asides for our hardworking city employees, and a crucial lifeline for countless New Yorkers. —Mark Levine, New York Daily News, 15 Mar. 2025

In addition to the rural set-aside visa quota explained above, this development provides unprecedented timeframes for rural EB-5 petitions based on my observations as the managing partner of an EB-5 firm. —Sam Silverman, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025

Even more controversial has been the state’s year-old Live Local Act, which overrides local zoning rules in commercial and industrial districts to encourage developers to supersize projects that include certain set-asides for middle-class housing. —Andres Viglucci, Miami Herald, 27 Feb. 2025

If that’s the case, the agreement has to meet HUD’s standard for repair set-asides. —Mallika Mitra, Sacramento Bee, 26 Feb. 2025

By then, billions of dollars in covid-era relief from the federal government — including a set-aside for TANF, which can cover emergency aid, job training, child care, and more — is likely to have expired. —Aneri Pattani, CBS News, 24 Feb. 2025

In November, the City Council came to the rescue and approved a $20 million set-aside in the city's 2025 budget. —Carlie Kollath Wells, Axios, 11 Feb. 2025

Those set-aside times are just called something different. —Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 9 Feb. 2025

The filing also outlines potential risks, including changes in federal budgetary priorities, competition, and the impact of federal contractual set-aside laws and regulations. —Quartz Bot, Quartz, 4 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1943, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for set-aside

• actinide
• aldehyde
• alkoxide
• alongside
• amplified
• arsenide
• beautified
• biocide
• butoxide
• calcified
• ceramide
• certified

Legal Definition

set aside

transitive verb

1

: to disagree with and overturn (a decision or act of a lower tribunal) upon review : overrule, vacate

set aside the decree

2

: to deprive of legal effect or force : annul, void

may set aside the contract