setback

4 definitions • 9 examples

something that happens that delays or prevents a process from developing:

Sally had been recovering well from her operation, but yesterday she experienced/suffered a setback.

There has been a slight/temporary setback in our plans.

something that causes delay or stops progress:

Democrats suffered a serious setback in yesterday’s election, losing all three contested seats.

something that happens that causes a delay or prevents a process from continuing:

He suffered a setback yesterday in his attempts to take a stake in the mobile phone company.

a setback to/for sth The new rule was a setback to smaller cable operators thinking of selling to other companies.

a major/serious setback

The decision is the latest in a series of setbacks for the industry.

a fall in prices on a stock or financial market:

The mail order group suffered a 17p setback to 366.5p.

Small companies are less likely to be diversified so setbacks in a single sector are more likely to wipe them out.