set a table

This page is about the collocation set a table

collocation pattern: verb + noun

Meaning

to put forks, knives, spoons, plates, place mats, etc. onto a table before a meal is served

For example

  • Has anyone set the table yet? Dinner's nearly ready.

  • Before the restaurant opens every night, all the tables have to be properly set.

Note:
Also "lay a table" (Br. English). A related collocation is "set a place (for sb at a table)".

Quick Quiz

Who has to know how to set a table correctly?

a. an interior designer

b. a carpenter

c. a waiter
a) an interior designer b) a carpenter c) a waiter

Contributor: Matt Errey