SETTING

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does setting mean? 

• SETTING (noun)
  The noun SETTING has 7 senses:

1. the context and environment in which something is set

2. the state of the environment in which a situation exists

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

4. the set of facts or circumstances that surround a situation or event

5. the physical position of something

6. a table service for one person

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

  Familiarity information: SETTING used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SETTING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The context and environment in which something is set

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Synonyms:

scene; setting

Context example:

the perfect setting for a ghost story

Hypernyms ("setting" is a kind of...):

environment; environs; surround; surroundings (the area in which something exists or lives)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "setting"):

scenario (a setting for a work of art or literature)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The state of the environment in which a situation exists

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

background; scope; setting

Context example:

you can't do that in a university setting

Hypernyms ("setting" is a kind of...):

environment (the totality of surrounding conditions)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "setting"):

canvas; canvass (the setting for a narrative or fictional or dramatic account)

show window; showcase (a setting in which something can be displayed to best effect)

Sense 3

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

mise en scene; setting; stage setting

Hypernyms ("setting" is a kind of...):

stage (a large platform on which people can stand and can be seen by an audience)

Meronyms (parts of "setting"):

flat (scenery consisting of a wooden frame covered with painted canvas; part of a stage setting)

prop; property (any movable articles or objects used on the set of a play or movie)

set; stage set (representation consisting of the scenery and other properties used to identify the location of a dramatic production)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The set of facts or circumstances that surround a situation or event

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

circumstance; context; setting

Context example:

the historical context

Hypernyms ("setting" is a kind of...):

environment (the totality of surrounding conditions)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "setting"):

conditions (the set of circumstances that affect someone's welfare)

conditions (the prevailing context that influences the performance or the outcome of a process)

Sense 5

Meaning:

The physical position of something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Context example:

he changed the setting on the thermostat

Hypernyms ("setting" is a kind of...):

place; position (the particular portion of space occupied by something)

Derivation:

set (set to a certain position or cause to operate correctly)

set (put into a certain place or abstract location)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A table service for one person

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

place setting; setting

Context example:

a place setting of sterling flatware

Hypernyms ("setting" is a kind of...):

service; table service (tableware consisting of a complete set of articles (silver or dishware) for use at table)

Derivation:

set (get ready for a particular purpose or event)

Sense 7

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

mount; setting

Context example:

the diamond was in a plain gold mount

Hypernyms ("setting" is a kind of...):

mounting (framework used for support or display)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "setting"):

pave (a setting with precious stones so closely set that no metal shows)

Derivation:

set (fix in a border)

 Context examples 

You seem to be traveling more than usual this month and enjoying the ability to venture out to new settings to visit friends and family.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

The RT-QuIC test is used in clinical settings to diagnose sporadic CJD in people.

(Eyes of CJD patients show evidence of prions, National Institutes of Health)

The new method has the potential to be of particular value in low-resource settings.

(AI approach outperformed human experts in identifying cervical precancer, National Institutes of Health)

The test, which already is used in clinical settings to diagnose sporadic CJD, is noted for its rapid and accurate results.

(New test detects protein associated with Alzheimer’s and CTE, National Institutes of Health)

Micawber, tell 'em to let Miss Agnes know—and mother. Mother will be quite in a state, when she sees the present company! said Uriah, setting chairs.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Himself has hitherto sufficed to the toil, and the toil draws near its close: his glorious sun hastens to its setting.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Strange and sudden change in Renfield last night. About eight o'clock he began to get excited and sniff about as a dog does when setting.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

They alighted out of the coach near a small foot-path in a field, and Glumdalclitch setting down my travelling box, I went out of it to walk.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

Adenocarcinomas arising in the setting of Barrett esophagus are typically papillary and/or tubular.

(Barrett Adenocarcinoma, NCI Thesaurus)

A tool for the assessment of pain in both clinical and research settings.

(Brief Pain Inventory, NCI Thesaurus)