to set back
37
4.2
- phrasal verb
- /sɛt bæk/
:
retrasar
- This is gonna set us back half a day!
- set back a program
- set back efforts
- set back several years
This is about to set us back, not push us forward.
- This is about to set us back, not push us forward.
- And what that does is it sets back the Speedy Trial Act clock.
- But even though broken hearts and narcissistic relationships can set us back, there is hope.
- All of those things would set us back in terms of prosperity and freedom.
- And she would be like, you're going to set women back hundreds of years.
- So all of this is going to set America back.
- I feel like wokeness in many ways set us back.
- The game plan on offense, I think was immediately set back because of Michigan's game plan on defense.
- So far, though, it's worth noting that Israel doesn't appear to want to completely eliminate Hamas, but rather wants to set them back decades.
- But when you have this group of leaders, elected officials who is, who are anti science, you're setting the US back and then ultimately setting the world back.
- All right, but sometimes we set ourselves back because we we're dwelling on the fact that we have not progressed as much as we want to yet.
- And that's going to set me back simply as a professional that shows up to do the job.
- But all those things can set you back to what it was like when you were not grown up 'cause you don't grow up.
Examples
-
All of those things would set us back in terms of prosperity and freedom.
-
The global warming issue has done much to set back climate science.
-
This is about to set us back, not push us forward.
-
Things like this really set things back on this project.
-
Unfortunately, this one major incident set us back to square one, and we needed to prove ourselves all over again.
Academic text (1999) -
Five years ago, living standards were set back years by the Great Recession.
-
It could set back the peace process in South Africa by months, if not years.
-
Stahl has been accused, along with others, of setting modern medicine back by as much as a century.
Fiction book (2000) -
The first major fizzle or crash will set the project back a year at minimum.
Blog text (20) -
The heavy rains are expected to set back the construction schedule by several weeks.
Synonyms
234
3.4
To delay something until a later time because of a problem
187
3.2
Stop someone or something from moving forward
113
2.9
Delay something until a later time
75
3.6
To make it difficult for people or things to do something
17
2.0
To stop someone from going forward or entering
15
5.5
To delay something until a later time
13
7.3
To delay discussion or a decision about something until later
1
4.6
To keep something for use or sale after its planned time
Antonyms
How Much
64
4.6
35
6.5
187
3.2
37
4.2
562
1.4
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
set + back
The sense 'to cost someone X' is not directly derivable from the provided literal meanings: 'set' (to initiate) plus 'back' (undefined here) do not transparently compose to a monetary cost. There is a recognisable metaphorical extension (being 'set back' financially, i.e. pushed back or deprived of funds) so the relation is partially inferable but still requires prior exposure to this idiomatic usage.
Etymology
Set back may come from the simple image of moving a clock to an earlier time; when you set a clock back, the hands show an earlier hour and plans start later than expected. So, the phrase now means 'to delay' or 'to slow progress'.