Definition

1. Noun:
   • The act or process of settling: The action of resolving or reaching an agreement about a dispute or matter.
   • A formal agreement that ends a dispute: A legal or official arrangement where parties agree to resolve their differences, often without a formal court judgment.
   • A place where people establish a community: A location, often a new or small one, where a group of people come to live and build homes.
   • The process of colonizing: The establishment of a colony or colonies by a country or group in a new territory.
   • The process of sinking or becoming firm: The gradual sinking of a structure (like a building) into the ground, or the process by which particles in a liquid sink to the bottom.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • The two companies reached a settlement out of court. (A formal agreement to end a legal dispute.)
  • The settlement of the American West was a major part of its history. (The process of people moving to and establishing communities.)
  • Archaeologists discovered an ancient Viking settlement. (A place where a community lived.)
  • We noticed some settlement in the foundation of the old house. (The sinking or shifting of a building's structure.)

Advanced Usage

• "To reach a settlement": To come to a mutual agreement to resolve a dispute.
  • After months of negotiation, they finally reached a settlement.
• "Settlement house": (Historical) An institution in an urban area providing educational, recreational, and other social services to the community.
  • Jane Addams founded Hull House, a famous settlement house in Chicago.

Variants and Related Words

• Settle (verb): To resolve, to agree, or to establish residence.
  • They decided to settle their argument.
  • He plans to settle in the countryside.
• Settler (noun): A person who settles in a new region.
  • Early settlers faced many hardships.

Synonyms

• Agreement: A negotiated arrangement.
• Resolution: The act of solving a problem or dispute.
• Colony: A territory settled and controlled by a distant nation.
• Hamlet/Village: A small community.

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Settle down: To establish a stable life in one place.
  • After traveling for years, she wanted to settle down and start a family.
• Settle for: To accept something less than what was originally wanted.
  • He didn't get his dream job, so he had to settle for a less exciting position.
• Settle in: To become comfortable in a new place.
  • It took a few weeks to settle in to the new apartment.

Related Idioms

• A done deal/settlement: An agreement that is completely finalized and cannot be changed.
  • The contract is signed, so it's a done settlement.
• To settle the score: To get revenge for a past wrong.
  • He was determined to settle the score with his old rival.

Noun

1. termination of a business operation by using its assets to discharge its liabilities
2. an area where a group of families live together
3. something settled or resolved; the outcome of decision making
   • they finally reached a settlement with the union
   • they never did achieve a final resolution of their differences
   • he needed to grieve before he could achieve a sense of closure
4. the act of colonizing; the establishment of colonies
   • the British colonization of America
5. a conclusive resolution of a matter and disposition of it
6. a community of people smaller than a town
7. a body of people who settle far from home but maintain ties with their homeland; inhabitants remain nationals of their home state but are not literally under the home state's system of government
   • the American colony in Paris