plural set-tos
: a usually brief and vigorous fight or debate
set to; setting to; sets to
Examples of set-to in a Sentence
Noun
they had a brief set-to about money, but they seem to have resolved it
Recent Examples on the Web
Dave Duffey, Outdoor Life, 26 Mar. 2026
Into this unholy mess blunders Juan (Juan Amador), bearing the gushing stigmata of a violent set-to in a Sacramento bar.
—Reed Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2023
Michael Gorra, The New York Review of Books, 4 Apr. 2026
In the hours before the Twins were set to host their home opener, executive chair Tom Pohlad sat in the first-base dugout and, once again, acknowledged the disgruntlement of the fan base.
—Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 3 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for set-to
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Noun
The grizzled heads among them testified to many a hazardous chase or physical set-to with violators of Wisconsin’s fish and game laws.
—Dave Duffey, Outdoor Life, 26 Mar. 2026
Into this unholy mess blunders Juan (Juan Amador), bearing the gushing stigmata of a violent set-to in a Sacramento bar.
—Reed Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2023
Verb
At the end of The Age of Innocence (1920), Edith Wharton skips forward from her 1870s setting to give us an early-twentieth-century glimpse of her protagonist Newland Archer.
—Michael Gorra, The New York Review of Books, 4 Apr. 2026
In the hours before the Twins were set to host their home opener, executive chair Tom Pohlad sat in the first-base dugout and, once again, acknowledged the disgruntlement of the fan base.
—Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 3 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for set-to
Cite this Entry
“Set-to.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/set-to. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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