- a check to progress; a reverse or defeat: The new law was a setback.
- a recession of the upper part of a building from the building line, as to lighten the structure or to permit a desired amount of light and air to reach ground level at the foot of the building.
- an act or instance of setting back: A nightly setback of your home thermostats can save a great deal of fuel.
- a downward temperature adjustment of a thermostat, especially performed automatically, as by a timer.
- the interval by which a chain or tape exceeds the length being measured.
- setback (def. 4).
- to hinder; impede
- to cost (a person) a specified amount
- anything that serves to hinder or impede
- a recession in the upper part of a high building, esp one that increases the daylight at lower levels
- a steplike shelf where a wall is reduced in thickness
