The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Set \Set\, n.
   1. The act of setting, as of the sun or other heavenly body;
      descent; hence, the close; termination. "Locking at the
      set of day." --Tennyson.
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            The weary sun hath made a golden set. --Shak.
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   2. That which is set, placed, or fixed. Specifically:
      (a) A young plant for growth; as, a set of white thorn.
      (b) That which is staked; a wager; a venture; a stake;
          hence, a game at venture. [Obs. or R.]
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                We will in France, by God's grace, play a set
                Shall strike his father's crown into the hazard.
                                                  --Shak.
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                That was but civil war, an equal set. --Dryden.
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      (c) (Mech.) Permanent change of figure in consequence of
          excessive strain, as from compression, tension,
          bending, twisting, etc.; as, the set of a spring.
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      (d) A kind of punch used for bending, indenting, or giving
          shape to, metal; as, a saw set.
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      (e) (Pile Driving) A piece placed temporarily upon the
          head of a pile when the latter cannot be reached by
          the weight, or hammer, except by means of such an
          intervening piece. [Often incorrectly written sett.]
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      (f) (Carp.) A short steel spike used for driving the head
          of a nail below the surface. Called also nail set.
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   3. [Perhaps due to confusion with sect, sept.] A number of
      things of the same kind, ordinarily used or classed
      together; a collection of articles which naturally
      complement each other, and usually go together; an
      assortment; a suit; as, a set of chairs, of china, of
      surgical or mathematical instruments, of books, etc. [In
      this sense, sometimes incorrectly written sett.]
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   4. A number of persons associated by custom, office, common
      opinion, quality, or the like; a division; a group; a
      clique. "Others of our set." --Tennyson.
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            This falls into different divisions, or sets, of
            nations connected under particular religions. --R.
                                                  P. Ward.
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   5. Direction or course; as, the set of the wind, or of a
      current.
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   6. In dancing, the number of persons necessary to execute a
      quadrille; also, the series of figures or movements
      executed.
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   7. The deflection of a tooth, or of the teeth, of a saw,
      which causes the the saw to cut a kerf, or make an
      opening, wider than the blade.
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   8.
      (a) A young oyster when first attached.
      (b) Collectively, the crop of young oysters in any
          locality.
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   9. (Tennis) A series of as many games as may be necessary to
      enable one side to win six. If at the end of the tenth
      game the score is a tie, the set is usually called a deuce
      set, and decided by an application of the rules for
      playing off deuce in a game. See Deuce.
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   10. (Type Founding) That dimension of the body of a type
       called by printers the width.
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   11. (Textiles) Any of various standards of measurement of the
       fineness of cloth; specif., the number of reeds in one
       inch and the number of threads in each reed. The exact
       meaning varies according to the location where it is
       used. Sometimes written sett.
       [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

   12. A stone, commonly of granite, shaped like a short brick
       and usually somewhat larger than one, used for street
       paving. Commonly written sett.
       [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

   13. Camber of a curved roofing tile.
       [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

   14. The manner, state, or quality of setting or fitting; fit;
       as, the set of a coat. [Colloq.]
       [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

   15. Any collection or group of objects considered together.
       [PJC]

   Dead set.
       (a) The act of a setter dog when it discovers the game,
           and remains intently fixed in pointing it out.
       (b) A fixed or stationary condition arising from obstacle
           or hindrance; a deadlock; as, to be at a dead set.
       (c) A concerted scheme to defraud by gaming; a determined
           onset.

   To make a dead set, to make a determined onset, literally
      or figuratively.
      [1913 Webster]

   Syn: Collection; series; group. See Pair.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Dead \Dead\ (d[e^]d), a. [OE. ded, dead, deed, AS. de['a]d; akin
   to OS. d[=o]d, D. dood, G. todt, tot, Icel. dau[eth]r, Sw. &
   Dan. d["o]d, Goth. daubs; prop. p. p. of an old verb meaning
   to die. See Die, and cf. Death.]
   1. Deprived of life; -- opposed to alive and living;
      reduced to that state of a being in which the organs of
      motion and life have irrevocably ceased to perform their
      functions; as, a dead tree; a dead man. "The queen, my
      lord, is dead." --Shak.
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            The crew, all except himself, were dead of hunger.
                                                  --Arbuthnot.
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            Seek him with candle, bring him dead or living.
                                                  --Shak.
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   2. Destitute of life; inanimate; as, dead matter.
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   3. Resembling death in appearance or quality; without show of
      life; deathlike; as, a dead sleep.
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   4. Still as death; motionless; inactive; useless; as, dead
      calm; a dead load or weight.
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   5. So constructed as not to transmit sound; soundless; as, a
      dead floor.
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   6. Unproductive; bringing no gain; unprofitable; as, dead
      capital; dead stock in trade.
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   7. Lacking spirit; dull; lusterless; cheerless; as, dead eye;
      dead fire; dead color, etc.
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   8. Monotonous or unvaried; as, a dead level or pain; a dead
      wall. "The ground is a dead flat." --C. Reade.
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   9. Sure as death; unerring; fixed; complete; as, a dead shot;
      a dead certainty.
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            I had them a dead bargain.            --Goldsmith.
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   10. Bringing death; deadly. --Shak.
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   11. Wanting in religious spirit and vitality; as, dead faith;
       dead works. "Dead in trespasses." --Eph. ii. 1.
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   12. (Paint.)
       (a) Flat; without gloss; -- said of painting which has
           been applied purposely to have this effect.
       (b) Not brilliant; not rich; thus, brown is a dead color,
           as compared with crimson.
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   13. (Law) Cut off from the rights of a citizen; deprived of
       the power of enjoying the rights of property; as, one
       banished or becoming a monk is civilly dead.
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   14. (Mach.) Not imparting motion or power; as, the dead
       spindle of a lathe, etc. See Spindle.
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   15. (Elec.) Carrying no current, or producing no useful
       effect; -- said of a conductor in a dynamo or motor, also
       of a telegraph wire which has no instrument attached and,
       therefore, is not in use.
       [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

   16. Out of play; regarded as out of the game; -- said of a
       ball, a piece, or a player under certain conditions in
       cricket, baseball, checkers, and some other games.

             [In golf], a ball is said to lie dead when it lies
             so near the hole that the player is certain to hole
             it in the next stroke.               --Encyc. of
                                                  Sport.
       [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

   Dead ahead (Naut.), directly ahead; -- said of a ship or
      any object, esp. of the wind when blowing from that point
      toward which a vessel would go.

   Dead angle (Mil.), an angle or space which can not be seen
      or defended from behind the parapet.

   Dead block, either of two wooden or iron blocks intended to
      serve instead of buffers at the end of a freight car.

   Dead calm (Naut.), no wind at all.

   Dead center, or Dead point (Mach.), either of two points
      in the orbit of a crank, at which the crank and connecting
      rod lie a straight line. It corresponds to the end of a
      stroke; as, A and B are dead centers of the crank
      mechanism in which the crank C drives, or is driven by,
      the lever L.

   Dead color (Paint.), a color which has no gloss upon it.

   Dead coloring (Oil paint.), the layer of colors, the
      preparation for what is to follow. In modern painting this
      is usually in monochrome.

   Dead door (Shipbuilding), a storm shutter fitted to the
      outside of the quarter-gallery door.

   Dead flat (Naut.), the widest or midship frame.

   Dead freight (Mar. Law), a sum of money paid by a person
      who charters a whole vessel but fails to make out a full
      cargo. The payment is made for the unoccupied capacity.
      --Abbott.

   Dead ground (Mining), the portion of a vein in which there
      is no ore.

   Dead hand, a hand that can not alienate, as of a person
      civilly dead. "Serfs held in dead hand." --Morley. See
      Mortmain.

   Dead head (Naut.), a rough block of wood used as an anchor
      buoy.

   Dead heat, a heat or course between two or more race
      horses, boats, etc., in which they come out exactly equal,
      so that neither wins.

   Dead horse, an expression applied to a debt for wages paid
      in advance. [Law]

   Dead language, a language which is no longer spoken or in
      common use by a people, and is known only in writings, as
      the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.

   Dead plate (Mach.), a solid covering over a part of a fire
      grate, to prevent the entrance of air through that part.


   Dead pledge, a mortgage. See Mortgage.

   Dead point. (Mach.) See Dead center.

   Dead reckoning (Naut.), the method of determining the place
      of a ship from a record kept of the courses sailed as
      given by compass, and the distance made on each course as
      found by log, with allowance for leeway, etc., without the
      aid of celestial observations.

   Dead rise, the transverse upward curvature of a vessel's
      floor.

   Dead rising, an elliptical line drawn on the sheer plan to
      determine the sweep of the floorheads throughout the
      ship's length.

   Dead-Sea apple. See under Apple.

   Dead set. See under Set.

   Dead shot.
       (a) An unerring marksman.
       (b) A shot certain to be made.

   Dead smooth, the finest cut made; -- said of files.

   Dead wall (Arch.), a blank wall unbroken by windows or
      other openings.

   Dead water (Naut.), the eddy water closing in under a
      ship's stern when sailing.

   Dead weight.
       (a) A heavy or oppressive burden. --Dryden.
       (b) (Shipping) A ship's lading, when it consists of heavy
           goods; or, the heaviest part of a ship's cargo.
       (c) (Railroad) The weight of rolling stock, the live
           weight being the load. --Knight.

   Dead wind (Naut.), a wind directly ahead, or opposed to the
      ship's course.

   To be dead, to die. [Obs.]
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            I deme thee, thou must algate be dead. --Chaucer.

   Syn: Inanimate; deceased; extinct. See Lifeless.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

dead set
    adj 1: fixed in your purpose; "bent on going to the theater";
           "dead set against intervening"; "out to win every event"
           [syn: bent, bent on(p), dead set(p), out to(p)]