setback
Americannoun
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a check to progress; a reverse or defeat.
The new law was a setback.
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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.
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an act or instance of setting back.
A nightly setback of your home thermostats can save a great deal of fuel.
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Also a downward temperature adjustment of a thermostat, especially performed automatically, as by a timer.
Etymology
Origin of setback
First recorded in 1665–75; noun use of verb phrase set back
Explanation
A setback is an event that makes you lose progress or keeps you from gaining ground. If you're knitting a sweater, dropping a bunch of stitches would be a big setback. If warring countries are negotiating a treaty, a sudden resurgence of fighting would be a huge setback for their peace plan. And if you're trying to finish baking in time for you friend's birthday party, knocking the frosted cake onto the floor would also be a setback. Setbacks are always frustrating — unless you're talking about the kind of setback that's defined as "a building's distance from the street."
Vocabulary lists containing setback
Vocabulary from Hillary Clinton's Concession Speech, November 9, 2016
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Heat
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for September 10–September 16, 2022
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Reports in Israel say officials see the deal as a major setback for the country.
From BBC • Jun. 14, 2026
The latest setback to world growth has reinforced the World Bank’s expectation that the 2020s will see little progress for developing economies in their efforts to catch up with the living standards of rich nations.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026
That left gold “increasingly vulnerable to a technical setback once key support levels gave way.”
From MarketWatch • Jun. 8, 2026
For Gulati, who had put so much into that bid, it was a crushing setback.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 7, 2026
“You don’t stop fighting because of a setback, even this one. If anything, it’s a reason to keep going.”
From "The Rock and the River" by Kekla Magoon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
