setback

noun

Etymology: Deverbal from set back. Compare drawback.

1. An obstacle, delay, disadvantage, or blow (an adverse event which slows down, or prevents progress towards a desired outcome).

   “After some initial setbacks, the expedition went safely on its way.”

   “DUKAT: I blame no one but myself. I was indiscreet. I compromised myself and have been punished accordingly. If someone under my command had behaved so outrageously, I would do the same thing to him. Besides, I assure you, this is only a temporary setback. Everything I have lost, I will regain. It's only a matter of time.”

2. Any adverse event, defeat, or impediment of progress.
3. The required distance between a structure and a road.
4. A step-like recession in a wall.

   “Setbacks were initially used for structural reasons, but now are often mandated by land use codes.”

5. An offset to the temperature setting of a thermostat to cover a period when more or less heating is required than usual.

   “Fuel savings from thermostat setbacks have long been accepted as fact, but little documentation existed to support it.”

6. A backset; a countercurrent; an eddy.
7. A backset; a check; a repulse; a relapse.