1
: something (such as a portion of receipts or production) that is set aside for a specified purpose
2
: a program requiring a percentage of opportunities (as for jobs or funding) to be reserved for an underrepresented group

Examples of set-aside in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Even more controversial has been the state’s year-old Live Local Act, which overrides local zoning rules in commercial and industrial districts to encourage developers to supersize projects that include certain set-asides for middle-class housing. Andres Viglucci, Miami Herald, 27 Feb. 2025 If that’s the case, the agreement has to meet HUD’s standard for repair set-asides. Mallika Mitra, Sacramento Bee, 26 Feb. 2025 By then, billions of dollars in covid-era relief from the federal government — including a set-aside for TANF, which can cover emergency aid, job training, child care, and more — is likely to have expired. Aneri Pattani, CBS News, 24 Feb. 2025 In November, the City Council came to the rescue and approved a $20 million set-aside in the city's 2025 budget. Carlie Kollath Wells, Axios, 11 Feb. 2025 Those set-aside times are just called something different. Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 9 Feb. 2025 The filing also outlines potential risks, including changes in federal budgetary priorities, competition, and the impact of federal contractual set-aside laws and regulations. Quartz Bot, Quartz, 4 Dec. 2024 Medicaid funding for maternal health initiatives would receive $13 million and $100 million in set-aside money to ensure the sustainability of Medicaid. Worth Sparkman, Axios, 22 Nov. 2024 Tribalism reached new levels with a pandemic of DEI quotas and set-asides. Armstrong Williams, Baltimore Sun, 10 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1943, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of set-aside was in 1943

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Cite this Entry

“Set-aside.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/set-aside. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.

Legal Definition

set aside

transitive verb
1
: to disagree with and overturn (a decision or act of a lower tribunal) upon review : overrule, vacate
set aside the decree
2
: to deprive of legal effect or force : annul, void
may set aside the contract

More from Merriam-Webster on set-aside

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