Meaning & use
jet setting
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Meanings
noununcountableinformal
The way of life of rich, famous people who travel often by plane to many countries for pleasure or work.
Grammar: Uncountable, so it has no plural and takes a singular verb: jet setting is expensive.
Patterns
- a life of jet setting
- the jet-setting lifestyle
After she married the billionaire, her life became a whirl of jet setting and parties.
The documentary follows the jet setting of young tech entrepreneurs.
He gave up jet setting to settle down in a small town.
adjectivebefore a nouninformal
Describing someone who travels frequently by plane to glamorous places, or the lifestyle of such people.
Grammar: Used before a noun: a jet-setting businessman. It is not usually used after a verb.
Patterns
- a jet-setting businessman
- a jet-setting lifestyle
She's a jet-setting executive who spends more time in hotels than at home.
The magazine is full of photos of jet-setting celebrities.
They live a jet-setting life, flying to Paris for dinner.
Common combinations
- a life of jet setting
- His life of jet setting ended when he ran out of money.
- jet-setting lifestyle
- The jet-setting lifestyle looks glamorous but can be exhausting.
- jet-setting businessman
- The jet-setting businessman owns homes in three countries.
- the jet set
- In the 1960s, the jet set partied in Monaco.
- jet-setter
- She's a real jet-setter, always posting photos from a new city.
Synonyms and how they differ
- globe-trotting
- Similar but often suggests traveling for adventure or work, not necessarily wealth or glamour.
- traveling
- Much more general; it doesn't imply luxury or frequent flying.
Word family
- jet set noun
- The group of rich, fashionable people who travel by jet.
- jet-setter noun
- A person who belongs to the jet set.
- jet-set verb
- To travel by jet, especially in a glamorous way.
Commonly confused: jet setting or jet skiing?
jet setting vs jet skiing
Jet skiing is a water sport using a small motorized boat; jet setting is about a luxurious travel lifestyle.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'jet setting' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Jet setting' refers to a lifestyle of frequent air travel, so it fits the first sentence. The second is wrong because it is not a verb meaning to park a car. The third is wrong because 'jet setting' is not a countable noun for a flight. The fourth is wrong because it is not a water activity.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “jet setting”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.