Meaning & use
set design
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Meanings
noununcountable
The art or job of creating the scenery and physical surroundings for a play, film, or TV show.
Grammar: Uncountable: set design is a field of work. For a particular example, say 'a set design'.
Patterns
- set design for something
- work in set design
She studied set design at drama school.
The set design for the film was incredibly detailed.
He works in set design for a theater company.
nouncountable
A particular arrangement of scenery and props for a production.
Grammar: Countable: a set design, two set designs.
Patterns
- a set design
- create a set design
The director approved the set design for the first act.
Each set design was carefully planned to match the period.
The set designs for the two plays were very different.
Word forms
| plural | set designs |
|---|
Common combinations
- set design for a play
- He did the set design for a play at the local theater.
- set design class
- She signed up for a set design class.
- set design and costumes
- The production won awards for set design and costumes.
- minimalist set design
- The minimalist set design used only a few chairs.
Synonyms and how they differ
- scenic design
- Scenic design is a more formal term for the same job, often used in theater.
- production design
- Production design is broader and includes set design, costumes, and overall visual style.
Word family
- set designer noun
- A person who creates set designs.
Commonly confused: set design or costume design?
set design vs costume design
Costume design is about the clothes actors wear; set design is about the scenery and props.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence:
Choose one answer.
We use 'for' to say who or what the set design is for: 'set design for a theater'. The other prepositions do not fit this pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “set design”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.