set off — verb 1. put in motion or move to act (Freq. 4) trigger a reaction actuate the circuits • Syn: ↑trip, ↑actuate, ↑trigger, ↑activate, ↑spark off, ↑ … Useful english dictionary
set|off — «SEHT F, OF», noun. 1. a thing used to set off or adorn; ornament; decoration. SYNONYM(S): trimming. 2. something that counterbalances or makes up for something else; compensation; offset. 3. a) … Useful english dictionary
set off — 1) PHRASAL VERB When you set off, you start a journey. [V P prep/adv] Nichols set off for his remote farmhouse in Connecticut... [V P prep/adv] The President s envoy set off on another diplomatic trip... [V P] I set off, full of optimism. Syn:… … English dictionary
set off — phrasal verb Word forms set off : present tense I/you/we/they set off he/she/it sets off present participle setting off past tense set off past participle set off 1) [intransitive] to start a journey, or to start going in a particular direction… … English dictionary
set off against — phrasal verb [transitive] Word forms set off against : present tense I/you/we/they set off against he/she/it sets off against present participle setting off against past tense set off against 1) set something off against something same as set… … English dictionary
set-off — Offset Off set , n. [Off + set. Cf. {Set off}.] In general, that which is set off, from, before, or against, something; as: [1913 Webster] 1. (Bot.) A short prostrate shoot, which takes root and produces a tuft of leaves, etc. See Illust. of… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
slip off something — slip off (something) to remove clothing quickly and easily. Before I knew it he had slipped out of his shirt and put his arm around me. She slipped her gloves off and set them on the table … New idioms dictionary
To set off — Set Set (s[e^]t), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Set}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Setting}.] [OE. setten, AS. setton; akin to OS. settian, OFries. setta, D. zetten, OHG. sezzen, G. setzen, Icel. setja, Sw. s[ a]tta, Dan. s?tte, Goth. satjan; causative from the root… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
To set off against — Set Set (s[e^]t), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Set}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Setting}.] [OE. setten, AS. setton; akin to OS. settian, OFries. setta, D. zetten, OHG. sezzen, G. setzen, Icel. setja, Sw. s[ a]tta, Dan. s?tte, Goth. satjan; causative from the root… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
set-off — /ˈsɛt ɒf/ (say set of) noun 1. anything that counterbalances or makes up for something else. 2. a counterbalancing debt or claim. 3. Architecture → offset (def. 16). 4. Printing a faulty transfer of superabundant or undried ink on a printed sheet …
