The 424 Definitions of the Word "Set"

The English language is a very strange and complicated language. There are some words that are spelled similarly but sound different. There are some words that look different but sound the same. There are some words that have more than one definition. So over hear at my Useless Information Headquarters I wondered, "What word has the most definitions?" When one of these questions pops into my head I will not rest until I find the answer, and I have. The word in the English language with the most definitions is "set."

How many definitions could the word set possibly have? Five? Ten? Twenty? Fifty? One Hundred? Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong and wrong. The word "set" has 424 definitions.

424 definitions? That can't be right! Oh, but it is.

There are several words in the English language that can be used as more than one type of word. Set is one of those words. First of all set can be used as a verb and that is how it is most commonly used. In fact, set has 119 definitions that are verbs.

I'm not about to name all 119 definitions but here are just a few ways that set can be used as a verb:
- to put something in a particular place
ex. I set my keys on the table.

- to put or apply
ex. I set the house on fire.

- to distribute china, silver
ex. I set the table.

- to put a price upon something
ex. I set the price for my Jennifer Connelly poster at $1,000,000

- to present as a model
ex. I set a good example for other Content Producers.

The 119 different ways you can use set as a verb also includes several verb phrases like "set ahead", "set apart", "all set" and "set aside."

Set is also a noun, or at least in Egyptian religion it is. Set was the brother and murderer of Osiris in Egyptian religion and took the form of a donkey.

The word set can be used as an adjective when talking about a set time, set procedures or set in his ways. The word set can be used as a noun when talking about a set of golf clubs, a television set or a set in a tennis match.

The list goes on and on. There are literally hundreds of different ways to use the word set. If you really want to know the English language then I suggest you get a dictionary and learn all 424 definitions.