set about

1. 1.

   begin to deal with

   “approach a task”

   “go about a difficult problem”

   “approach a new project”

   Synonymsgo aboutapproach

   Broaderact

   Narrowerconfront
2. 2.

   enter upon an activity or enterprise

   Synonymsundertakeattempt

   Broaderinitiate
3. 3.

   take the first step or steps in carrying out an action

   “We began working at dawn”

   “Who will start?”

   “Get working as soon as the sun rises!”

   “The first tourists began to arrive in Cambodia”

   “He began early in the day”

   “Let's get down to work now”

   Synonymsget downbegingetstart outstartset outcommence

   Narrowerrecommencestrike outfalljump offget toauspicateattackbreak inplungecome on

Questions about set about

What does set about mean?

set about means "begin to deal with". That is the primary sense; the word has 3 in total, listed in full on this page.

What is another word for set about?

Close synonyms include go about, approach, undertake, attempt, get down. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is set about a common word?

set about is banded "Familiar" — widely understood, used when the subject calls for it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.