to set out
161
3.2
- phrasal verb
- /sɛt aʊt/
- So these are the questions I set out to answer for my book.
- set out to prove
- set out to write
- set out to examine
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Watch on YouTubeI didn't set out to make a film.
- I didn't set out to make a film.
- What is it that we mean when we set out to seek happiness?
- Kissinger set out to squash them or others.
- And that's what we set out to discover.
- I've I've done everything that I've set out to do, plus so much more.
- And that paper, by the way, did not set out to, you know, invent computation.
- And that's what I set out to do.
- So that's why I say maybe like Suzanne did what she set out to do, but I just don't.
- You didn't set out to choose a toxic Co parent for your children.
Examples
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And a year after that I set out to make my first feature.
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Do you feel like you accomplished what you set out to do today?
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I think I never set out to build a media company.
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And then B, so many people set out to be the best.
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We did what we, we set out to do, which is so crazy.
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I set out to know who put her in the spot, who put her in front of the gun.
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I achieved what I set out to do, and that was all.
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In response to these questions, I set out in search of answers.
Academic text (2015) -
While I did not initially set out to write a series, I am thrilled to be doing so.
Academic text (2015) -
After much planning, we set out to complete the community garden project by spring.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To begin an action, event or process
∞
1.0
To start an activity, event, or speech
774
1.8
To begin doing something, for example a task or meeting
765
3.7
To start something new with energy, often in public
598
2.3
To start doing something or to leave
465
1.4
To begin a job, project, or career
157
4.4
To begin something
121
4.4
To start doing work or a task seriously
113
4.7
To start a new, important, or difficult activity
95
4.2
To start a new project, activity or journey that is often big and difficult
28
3.8
To start an event or activity, for example a speech
24
3.4
To start doing something in a determined way
10
3.2
To begin working right away with energy
1
5.1
To start a project or activity
Antonyms
How Purposeful
Surface Forms
Morphology
The verb 'set' (to put/place) combined with the particle 'out' (outward, distributed) yields a clear compositional sense of placing or laying items outward—i.e., arranging or laying out objects; this is a regular motion/placement + particle pattern that B1 learners can readily infer. The extension to organizing ideas or information is a systematic metaphorical transfer from physical layout (common cross-linguistically), so the core meaning remains predictable from the parts.
Etymology
The phrasal verb set out treats a task like a trip: you plan a direction and then set your plans out toward a goal. That's why set out can mean 'to start a project or activity with a clear aim'.