From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishset something ↔ aside phrasal verb1 SEPARATEto keep something, especially money, time, or a particular area, for a special purpose for Try to set aside some time each day for exercise. a room that had been set aside for visitors2 FORGETto decide not to consider a particular feeling or thing because something else is more important Both sides agreed to set aside the question of independence.3 SCLto officially state that a previous legal decision or agreement no longer has any effect The judge set aside the verdict of the lower court.4 if a farmer sets aside land, he or she agrees not to grow any crops on it, and accepts a payment from the government for this → set→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
set aside• Discard fat from saucepan and set pan aside.• He took a sip of tea and set the cup aside.• How could we set her aside?• Then sift them into the bowl; set sifter aside.• Wednesday, perceiving no choice, he set it aside.• Chop the dates into pieces about the size of corn kernels and set them aside as well.• I do not need it and will set it aside for you, my dear boy, to complete your studies.• I set those thoughts aside to peruse the direction my instincts led me to take.set for• We all set Fridays aside for preparation, which means that we can collaborate closely on course work.set-asideˈset-aˌside noun [countable, uncountable] 1 British English an arrangement in the European Union in which a government pays farmers to leave some of their fields empty, in order to avoid producing too much of a crop and to keep the price higher2 an arrangement in the US in which a local government helps small businesses to develop by making financial help available to them In 1976, Connecticut established one of the nation’s first set-aside programs.3 an amount of money that is kept so that it can be used for a special purpose SYN reserveExamples from the Corpus
set-aside• The 30 % set-aside did not apply to city contracts awarded to minority-owned prime contractors.• However, the star performance came from the consultants' programme on first wheat after set-aside.• The administration has imposed a three-year moratorium on federal minority set-aside programs.From Longman Business Dictionaryset something → aside phrasal verb [transitive]1to keep something, especially a particular amount of money, so that it can be used for a special purpose$500,000 were set aside in a ‘reserve account’, the government document said.2to officially cancel an earlier legal decision or agreementThe judgeset aside a jury verdict awarding £3.2 million to a private firm in a contract dispute. → see also set-aside → set→ See Verb tableset-asideˈset-aˌside noun [countable]FINANCE1an amount of money kept so that it can be used for a special purposeSYNRESERVEThe bank is increasing its set-aside at the rate of roughly $50 million a quarter.2American English an arrangement in which a local government helps small businesses to develop by making loans etc available to themIn 1976, Connecticut established one of the nation’s firstset-aside programs. 