set down

verb

set down; setting down; sets down

transitive verb

1

: to cause to sit down : seat

2

: to place at rest on a surface or on the ground

3

: to suspend (a jockey) from racing

4

: to cause or allow to get off a vehicle : deliver

5

: to land (an airplane) on the ground or water

6

a

: ordain, establish

b

: to put in writing

7

a

: regard, consider

set him down as a liar

b

: attribute

Synonyms

• seat
• sit

Examples of set down in a Sentence

set the toddler down in her seat

set down the names of those in attendance

Recent Examples on the Web

Matching interests is closely related to pathos, the appeal to the emotions of the audience, and is one of the three essential elements of persuasion set down by Aristotle over two millennia ago. —Jerry Weissman, Forbes, 16 Dec. 2024

The order’s practices were set down by the first chief steward, Marc Lescarbot, a lawyer and poet in the colony at Port-Royal. —Melanie Stetson Freeman, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 Nov. 2024

For many immigrant communities, food businesses are a way to set down roots and stability in a new country. —Ahmed Ali Akbar, Chicago Tribune, 6 Nov. 2024

Darvish, the 38-year-old childhood idol of Ohtani, gave up an early home run to Kiké Hernández, then set down 14 in a row. —Jackson Thompson, Fox News, 12 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

set down

verb

1

: to cause to sit down : seat

2

: to place at rest on a surface or on the ground

3

: to land (an airplane) on the ground or water

4

: establish sense 2

the government set down laws

5

: to put in writing