Wiktionary
vb. (context idiomatic English) To set specific standards or expectations.
Usage examples of "set the bar".
He set the bar down and flipped back a few pages, then grunted in satisfaction.
A shopkeeper had set the bar across his shutters and was fastening it with a bronze padlock.
He chose a point, set the bar against it, and cut through the mild steel rods with a shriek and a shower of red sparks.
The course computed, Seaton set the bar and the Skylark tore through the air.
With what looked like his last ounce of energy, McCoy set the BAR down carefully on the sandbags and then collapsed on his back, breathing heavily, still festooned with bandoliers of twenty-round magazines for the BAR.
Hawkril grunted, as he set the bar against the wall and held the door wide.
Karsa set the bar down on the tabletop, then crouched down beside one of the victims and began removing his sword-belt.