student asking question

What is the meaning of "set oneself up for"?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

"Set oneself up for" means "prepare conditions to guarantee a certain outcome." Usually, "set oneself up for" has a negative connotation and is used to describe doing something to result in a negative outcome. Ex: She set herself up to fail that test because she didn't study

Popular Q&As

03/23

Complete the expression with a quiz!