View synonyms for setback

setback

[ set-bak ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a check to progress; a reverse or defeat:
The new law was a setback.
Architecture. a recession of the upper part of a building from the building line, as to lighten the structure or to permit a desired amount of light and air to reach ground level at the foot of the building.
an act or instance of setting back:
A nightly setback of your home thermostats can save a great deal of fuel.
Also a downward temperature adjustment of a thermostat, especially performed automatically, as by a timer.

Origin of setback¹

First recorded in 1665–75; noun use of verb phrase set back

This is hardly the “setback for gay marriage” that some enthusiastic headline-writers have proclaimed.

It meant more to our father to see us deal with a setback and try to bounce back than to watch how we handled our successes.

Each new setback, whether contrived or not, makes Jarvis newly “determined not to give the cameras the reaction they craved.”

Seneca encouraged followers to possess the strength of immunity to setback, but never withheld his human touch.

If the New York City vote passes, as it is likely to, it will be the highest-profile setback for e-cigarettes in this country.

Some Manchurian walnuts also got a setback with spring frosts, and some did not.

He polled less than a third of the votes, and Sinn Fein received a serious setback.

"Look at her mouth—made for passion—and the very setback of her throat—" He threw his head back in Clara's defiant manner.

There is usually a setback in the wall at the floor level, but this practice was not followed in all the rooms.

The lawyer quickly returned, having received another setback.

Browse