How to Use set off in a Sentence

set off

verb
Definition of set offnext
Synonyms for set offnext
  • The success of these drugs has set off a boom in research.
    — Emma Court, Fortune Well, 31 Jan. 2024
  • The trio sets off on a mission for Aang to learn all four elements and help save the world.
    — Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 22 Feb. 2024
  • But the officials missed the deadline, setting off the rest of the delays.
    — Jaden Edison, Hartford Courant, 13 Jan. 2024
  • His memoir, The Thrill of the Chase, set off a nationwide treasure hunt.
    — Popular Mechanics, 10 Mar. 2023
  • Once again, Talking Heads are setting off dance parties around the world.
    — Rob Tannenbaum, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2023
  • Ralph DeFalco of Annapolis brought his young children to the ocean at 2:45 a.m. to watch the boats set off.
    — Hayes Gardner, Baltimore Sun, 11 Aug. 2023
  • To set off the look, the actress carried a hot pink handbag and sparkly retro cell phone.
    — Genevieve Cepeda, Peoplemag, 28 Nov. 2023
  • The royal set off around 7 a.m. local time, awake for the early workout likely thanks in part to the jet lag as the U.K. is five hours ahead.
    — Simon Perry, Peoplemag, 19 Sep. 2023
  • His luscious food calls for a party and the restaurant obliges with a private room, set off with a red rug on the wall, that can seat up to 50.
    — Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 27 Nov. 2023
  • Officials may have set off claims for a First Amendment case.
    — Prem Thakker, The New Republic, 12 July 2023
  • Former President Trump sets off alarms about what his return to the White House could look like.
    — Nbc Universal, NBC News, 10 Dec. 2023
  • That's because when a baby lies on their back, mucus drips down the nasal passages to the back of the throat and sets off a cough response to keep the fluid out of the lungs.
    — Rebecca Stewart, Parents, 21 Dec. 2023
  • Burglars gained access to the building and entered the vault without setting off the alarms.
    — Alexandra Banner, CNN, 5 Apr. 2024
  • At the end of the school year, my father loaded my brother Scott into a VW van and set off overland for India.
    — Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 8 Jan. 2024
  • Biden had used the word to describe Xi earlier this year, setting off a furor in the Chinese state media.
    — Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 17 Nov. 2023
  • The pair set off on major adventures around the globe searching for ways to defeat Black Manta.
    — Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Dec. 2023
  • Passage of the bill, just hours ahead of Saturday’s 12:01 a.m. shutdown deadline, set off a sprint in the Senate to avert a lapse in funding.
    — Catie Edmondson, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2024
  • The discovery of a dead desert bighorn sheep near an Arizona field has set off a search for the poacher, wildlife officials said.
    — Helena Wegner, Sacramento Bee, 12 Feb. 2024
  • The caller said someone egged their car and set off fireworks near their property.
    — Brian Lisik, cleveland, 15 Aug. 2023
  • When the adults got home, they were greeted with total silence, which instantly set off alarm bells for Adam.
    — Kelly Martinez, Peoplemag, 2 Aug. 2023
  • But her sudden appearance has set off a chain of events that put the production in jeopardy.
    — Rebecca Angel Baer, Southern Living, 19 Sep. 2023
  • The general and his wife set off in the direction of the building where Rula lived, with her husband, Mustafa, and their four children.
    — Ben Taub, The New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2023
  • Bohannon was fired on May 4, setting off a whirlwind for the program.
    — Nick Alvarez | Nalvarez@al.com, al, 10 July 2023
  • Squelching inflation is the Fed’s goal, and a credit crunch set off by bank failures could get it there quickly.
    — Jeff Sommer, New York Times, 31 Mar. 2023
  • On Saturday, large crowds set off fireworks and burned Israeli flags as news of Hamas’s attack spread.
    — James Hookway, WSJ, 9 Oct. 2023
  • In Dubai, fireworks will be set off each weekend, and shopping malls will offer goods at heavy discounts.
    — Adela Suliman, Washington Post, 23 Mar. 2023
  • Venus fusing with Saturn sets off a new cycle of bonding.
    — USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2024
  • But this may be the first time a banking crisis has been at least partly set off by chatter on social media.
    — Prarthana Prakash, Fortune, 15 Mar. 2023
  • The temblor set off a tsunami warning for southern Japan and the Philippines that was later lifted.
    — John Bacon, USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2024
  • Their fur houses fleas, which can be infected with a bacterium that can set off fever.
    — Madeleine Schwartz, The New York Review of Books, 27 July 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'set off.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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