The phrase "able to set off" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when describing the capability to initiate or trigger something, such as an event or reaction.
Example: "The new software is able to set off alerts when unusual activity is detected."
Alternatives: "capable of triggering" or "able to initiate".
The thought of "arena food" has long been able to set off the onset of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Take time to plan your side project so you're able to set off down the right path.
Ms. Soli is somehow able to set off sparks between two photographers, the neophyte Helen and the seasoned, much-admired and very married Sam, without remotely suggesting that they are not on an equal footing.
Experiments on radium led in 1932 to the discovery of the neutron, which the Hungarian physicist Leo Szilard grasped might be able to set off catastrophically powerful chain reactions.
Unfortunately, he had never heard the name of the place pronounced, and was thus able to set off great hilarity among a group of Eastern-boarding-school graduates — the sort that some Midwestern high-school boys at Princeton then referred to as Tweedy Shitballs — by saying that he was from "Mamma-ronn-nick".
Unfortunately, he had never heard the name of the place pronounced, and was thus able to set off great hilarity among a group of Eastern-boarding-school graduates the sort that some Midwestern high-school boys at Princeton then referred to as Tweedy Shitballs by saying that he was from "Mamma-ronn-nick".
ACT that had been incurred prior to 1999 could still be set off against a company's tax liability, provided it would have been able to set it off under the old imputation system.
Apparently stunt people and others trained at falling won't be able to set it off, either.
Want to set off fireworks?
radicals needed to set off the cascade.
I was able to set their on-off times without consulting the manual.
