inset

[ noun in-set; verb in-set ]
See synonyms for inset on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. something inserted; insert.

  2. a small picture, map, etc., inserted within the border of a larger one.

  1. the act of setting in.

  2. a piece of cloth or other material set into a garment, usually as an ornamental panel.

verb (used with object),in·set, in·set·ting.
  1. to set in or insert, as an inset: to inset a panel in a dress.

  2. to insert an inset in: to inset a mounting with jewels.

Origin of inset

1
before 900; Middle English insetten to insert, Old English insettan to initiate; see in-1, set

Other words from inset

  • insetter, noun

Words Nearby inset

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use inset in a sentence

  • No helicopters swung their blades above; there were only the bulge of a conning tower and the heavy inset glasses of the lookouts.

  • She was twisting at an inset handle around which faint lines indicated the door edge.

    Valley of the Croen | Lee Tarbell
  • Jason asked, handing the outcast a flat gold case inset with a single large diamond.

    Deathworld | Harry Harrison
  • Randall saw that it was lit by squares inset in the walls that glowed with crimson light.

British Dictionary definitions for inset

inset

verb(ɪnˈsɛt) -sets, -setting or -set
  1. (tr) to set or place in or within; insert

noun(ˈɪnˌsɛt)
  1. something inserted

  2. printing

    • a small map or diagram set within the borders of a larger one

    • another name for insert (def. 4)

  1. a piece of fabric inserted into a garment, as to shape it or for decoration

  2. a flowing in, as of the tide

Derived forms of inset

  • insetter, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012