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setting

noun · adjective

Simple meaning

A mounting made up of a piece of metal that holds a gem in place.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

sehting

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈsɛtɪŋ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A mounting consisting of a piece of metal (as in a ring or other jewelry) that holds a gem in place

  2. A piece of metal in which a precious stone or gem is fixed to form a piece of jewelry.

  3. The time, place and circumstance in which something (such as a story or picture) is set; context; scenario.

  4. The act of setting (various senses).

  5. The mounting of a play, etc., for the stage.

  6. A level or placement to which a knob or control is set.

adjective

  1. That disappears below the horizon.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A2 · Elementary
Frequency
Very Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A mounting consisting of a piece of metal (as in a ring or other jewelry) that holds a gem in place

Used this way, setting is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use setting

  • “You can't do that in a university setting.”noun
  • “The perfect setting for a ghost story.”noun
  • “He changed the setting on the thermostat.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

setting sunsocial settingclinical settingschool settingnatural settingsetting fire

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • setternounPerson or profession

    One who sets written material into type.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • setting hennounCompound term

    A domestic hen ready to brood.

  • sight settingnounCompound term

    The adjustment of a gunsight for elevation and windage on a particular range under favorable light conditions.

  • stage settingnounCompound term

    Arrangement of scenery and properties to represent the place where a play or movie is enacted.

  • trend settingnounCompound term

    The initiating or popularizing of a trend or fashion.

  • place settingnounCompound term

    A table service for one person.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.