to set in motion
25
3.5
- phrasal verb
:
poner en marcha
- Her sudden decision to change careers set in motion a series of positive changes in her life.
- set in motion a process
- set in motion a series
- set in motion reform
I had set in motion that relationship.
- I had set in motion that relationship.
- We want to look at what can they do, what can be set in motion and then look at a long range plan.
- And he says the significance of the deed is that what was unmoved has been set in motion.
- And with these lies, these cynical words, the German war machinery is finally set in motion.
- But what it also does is set in motion a chain of events that are going to make your sleep less restful.
- A boom bust process is set in motion when the trend and the misconception positively reinforce each other.
- So that first felony kind of set in motion a whole laundry list of stories and a whole laundry list of of things.
- Or I'll set in motion something that suddenly creates a kind of mini form of chaos among people.
- And you don't think that the things were set in motion in that moment that led to let's what led to the downfall of the USSR?
- The mind is the result of a very basic process that is set in motion that then is exposed to all of these developmental influences.
- And that set in motion me training for this race and, and, and, and competing in it a couple times.
- This is going to be it's just going to set in motion a downstream fucking like nightmare.
Examples
-
Jamie, this whole thing between you and Max was set in motion way before I ever met you.
-
The wheels are already set in motion.
-
And and that set in motion the process that eventually changed me.
-
The next piece of his plan was set in motion.
-
"The plan is in place and has been set in motion.
Academic text (1996) -
There is no stopping this process once it is set in motion.
Academic text (1995) -
But what it also does is set in motion a chain of events that are going to make your sleep less restful.
-
Now that the plans have been set in motion, Manta... ...there is no turning back.
-
Together with the Page Law, the Chinese Exclusion Act set in motion a new era in American immigration history.
Academic text (1999) -
An artist might revise a style by replicating it, thereby setting in motion a new process of stylistic development.
Academic text (2017)
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To begin an action, event or process
∞
1.0
To start an activity, event, or speech
∞
1.0
To make something happen
504
3.7
To start something new with energy, often in public
426
4.5
To start something such as a project or discussion
203
3.0
To make something happen
168
5.3
Cause a process, event, or feeling to start
131
3.1
To cause something to start or happen
21
3.2
To take action that causes events or results
21
3.4
To start doing something in a determined way
16
2.8
To start a meeting or project by taking the first step
4
8.6
To make something happen, for example a plan or change
3
4.0
To start a set of events where each event makes the next happen
1
4.9
Start a series of actions that lead to later changes
1
5.1
To start a project or activity
1
5.1
To cause something to start suddenly
1
7.3
To make a machine start working
Antonyms
How Forceful
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase 'set in motion' combines 'set' (to initiate) with 'in' + 'motion' (into movement), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can readily infer 'to cause something to begin'. This compositional pattern is common in English and mirrored in many other languages (e.g., poner en marcha, mettre en marche), making the expression transparent rather than idiomatic.
Etymology
The phrase set in motion comes from the image of pushing or placing something so it begins to move. To set something 'in motion' is to make it start, so the phrase now means 'to cause something to begin'.