set great store by

set great store by (something or someone)

To have much faith, confidence, or belief in someone or something; to very seriously care about, appreciate, or respect someone or something. It is important that one sets great store by one's friends, for it is to them one must turn when life becomes difficult. My brother is not one to set great store by obeying social rules or etiquette.See also: by, great, set, store

set great store by someone or something

to have positive expectations for someone or something; to have high hopes for someone or something. I set great store by my computer and its ability to help me in my work. Bill sets great store by his expensive tools.See also: by, great, set, store

set great store by, to

To value highly. This phrase uses store in the sense of something precious, a usage dating from Chaucer’s time but now obsolete except here. It has also been put as set little or no store by, meaning to value scarcely or not at all. Laurence Sterne used it in Sentimental Journey (1768), writing about a starling: “The bird had little or no store set by him.”See also: great, set, store