Meaning & use
set in
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Meanings
phrasephrasal verb
To begin and seem likely to continue, said of something unpleasant such as bad weather, decay or a feeling.
Grammar: No object: the rain set in. The subject is usually something unwelcome.
Patterns
- something sets in
- something sets in for the night
By the time we reached the village, a cold drizzle had set in.
Once exhaustion sets in, even simple decisions feel hard.
Rust will set in quickly if you leave the tools outside.
verbtransitive
To fix or place something inside a surface or larger structure, so that it sits level with it.
Grammar: Takes an object: set the window in the wall.
Patterns
- set something in something
The builders set the glass panel in the stone wall.
She set a small jewel in the center of the ring.
A tiled square was set in the floor of the hallway.
phrasefixed phrase
Used of a story, film or play: having its events take place in a given time or place, usually in the passive.
Grammar: Almost always passive: the novel is set in Cairo.
Patterns
- be set in somewhere
- be set in some period
The novel is set in a fishing town in the 1950s.
Their latest series is set in a future where cities float.
Most of the play is set in a single kitchen.
Word forms
| third person singular | sets in |
|---|---|
| past tense | set in |
| past participle | set in |
| -ing form | setting in |
Common combinations
- winter sets in
- Winter sets in early on the mountain.
- panic sets in
- Panic set in when the lights went out.
- doubt sets in
- Doubt can set in after a few failures.
- decay sets in
- Decay had already set in at the base of the tree.
- set in motion
- The announcement set in motion a chain of events.
Synonyms and how they differ
- begin
- This is neutral and can describe anything, while set in suggests an unwelcome condition that is now established.
- take hold
- This stresses that something has gained a firm grip, and is common with illness or fear.
- arrive
- This only says something has come, with none of the sense that it will last.
- close in
- This describes things moving nearer, such as fog or darkness, and not the start of a state.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: set in or set on?
set in vs set on
To set on someone is to attack them, and to be set on something is to be determined to have it. Neither means 'begin to last'.
Practice
Choose the best word to complete the sentence: 'We should leave before the snow ___.'
Choose one answer.
Set in means an unwelcome condition begins and stays. Set off and set out are about starting a journey, and set up means to arrange.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “set in”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.