| English > English | |
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| setback | |
| 1. n. An obstacle, delay, or disadvantage. |  |
| After some initial setbacks, the expedition went safely on its way. | |
| 2. n. (US) The required distance between a structure and a road. | |
| 3. n. (architecture) A step-like recession in a wall. | |
| Setbacks were initially used for structural reasons, but now are often mandated by land use codes. | |
| 4. n. An offset to the temperature setting of a thermostat to cover a period when more or less heating is required than usual. | |
| 5. n. (possibly archaic) A backset; a countercurrent; an eddy. | |
| 6. n. (archaic) A backset; a check; a repulse; a relapse. | |
