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Glite Dictionary
👜 To put down 📝 To write officially 🛬 To land 🚐 To drop off
to set down

to set down

70 1.7
To put something or someone down gently on a surface
  • phrasal verb
  • /sɛt daʊn/
translation icon : poner
  • She gently set down the fragile vase on the table.
  • set down the tray
  • set down the phone
  • set down the glass

And so I set it down and I was like, what's up Internet?

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Examples

  • Just set me down nice and easy.

    Escape from Planet Earth (2013)

  • Ted Freeman picked him up and set him down on the desk itself.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Okay, you can just set it down now.

    The New Hands (2023)

  • It's okay, just set it down for now.

    Dad (2019)

  • You can set it down there.

    The Matrix Revolutions (2003)

  • I may have to set her down.

    Five Came Back (1939)

  • We set it down and we let it go.

    Braindead (1992)

  • Let's see if we can set them down and set them free.

  • Carefully holding it on its sides with both hands, she sets it down on the clean countertop.

    Blog text (17)

  • In the shed, Dad lifted a stack of newspapers and set it down on a coiled garden hose.

    Fiction book (1990)

Synonyms

to lay
vsto set down
∞ 1.0

To put something down carefully so it is flat on a surface

is gentler and focuses on careful handling rather than flatness
to put down
vsto set down
812 1.0

To lower something from your hands onto a surface

is a gentler action focused on careful positioning
to deposit
vsto set down
44 2.5

To put something down carefully in a particular place

is gentler and usually means soft handling rather than firm rest
to place down
vsto set down
1 1.7

Put something on a table or chair so it rests

is gentler and emphasizes careful lowering not mere settling

Antonyms

to drop
∞ 1.0

To let something fall suddenly or by accident

to lift
553 1.0

To raise something higher by hand or with a machine

How Carefully

to set down
70 1.7
to lay
∞ 1.0
to place
∞ 1.0
to put down
812 1.0
to drop
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

set down infinitive
set down past
set down past participle
setting down present participle
sets down third person singular

Morphology

set + down

The meaning 'to remove from a vehicle and leave at a particular place' is directly derivable from combining a putting/placing sense of 'set' with 'down' (to a lower/place position). This verb+particle composition is a common, cross-linguistic pattern (place/put + down = deposit/drop off), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will likely understand it.

Etymology

Set down shows the simple image of set (to place) and down (to lower); imagine someone gently lowering a heavy backpack onto the ground. So, it means 'to place or put something down'.