settle
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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to appoint, fix, or resolve definitely and conclusively; agree upon (as time, price, or conditions).
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to place in a desired state or in order.
to settle one's affairs.
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to pay, as a bill.
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to close (an account) by payment.
- Synonyms:
- liquidate
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to migrate to and organize (an area, territory, etc.); colonize.
The pilgrims settled Plymouth.
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to cause to take up residence.
They settled immigrants in urban areas.
- Synonyms:
- relocate
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to furnish (a place) with inhabitants or settlers.
The French settled this colony with army veterans.
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to quiet, calm, or bring to rest (the nerves, stomach, etc.).
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to stop from annoying or opposing.
A sharp word will settle that youngster.
- Synonyms:
- pacify, still, compose, tranquilize
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to conclude or resolve.
to settle a dispute.
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to make (someone) comfortable or snug.
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to make stable; place in a permanent position or on a permanent basis.
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to cause (a liquid) to become clear by depositing dregs.
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to cause (dregs, sediment, etc.) to sink or be deposited.
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to cause to sink down gradually; make firm or compact.
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to dispose of finally; close up.
to settle an estate.
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Law.
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to secure (property, title, etc.) on or to a person by formal or legal process.
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to terminate (legal proceedings) by mutual consent of the parties.
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verb (used without object)
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to decide, arrange, or agree (often followed by on orupon ).
to settle on a plan of action.
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to arrange matters in dispute; come to an agreement.
to settle with a person.
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to pay a bill; make a financial arrangement (often followed byup ).
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to take up residence in a new country or place.
Many Frenchmen settled along the Mississippi River following La Salle's explorations.
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to come to rest, as from flight.
A bird settled on a bough.
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to gather, collect, or become fixed in a particular place, direction, etc..
A cold settled in my head.
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to become calm or composed (often followed bydown ).
I'll wait until the class settles before starting the lesson.
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to come to rest (often followed bydown ).
We settled down for the night at an old country inn.
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to sink down gradually; subside.
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to become clear by the sinking of suspended particles, as a liquid.
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to sink to the bottom, as sediment.
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to become firm or compact, as the ground.
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(of a female animal) to become pregnant; conceive.
verb phrase
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settle into to become established in.
to settle into a new routine.
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settle for to be satisfied with.
to settle for less.
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settle down
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to become established in some routine, especially upon marrying, after a period of independence or indecision.
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to become calm or quiet.
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to apply oneself to serious work.
There were so many distractions that we weren't able to settle down to studying.
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noun
verb
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(tr) to put in order; arrange in a desired state or condition
he settled his affairs before he died
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to arrange or be arranged in a fixed or comfortable position
he settled himself by the fire
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(intr) to come to rest or a halt
a bird settled on the hedge
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to take up or cause to take up residence
the family settled in the country
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to establish or become established in a way of life, job, residence, etc
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(tr) to migrate to and form a community; colonize
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to make or become quiet, calm, or stable
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(intr) to be cast or spread; come down
fog settled over a wide area
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to make (a liquid) clear or (of a liquid) to become clear; clarify
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to cause (sediment) to sink to the bottom, as in a liquid, or (of sediment) to sink thus
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to subside or cause to subside and become firm or compact
the dust settled
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(sometimes foll by up) to pay off or account for (a bill, debt, etc)
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(tr) to decide, conclude, or dispose of
to settle an argument
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(intr; often foll by on or upon) to agree or fix
to settle upon a plan
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(tr; usually foll by on or upon) to secure (title, property, etc) to a person, as by making a deed of settlement, will, etc
he settled his property on his wife
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to determine (a legal dispute, etc) by agreement of the parties without resort to court action (esp in the phrase settle out of court )
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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settleabilitynoun
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settlednessnoun
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quasi-settledadjective
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settleableadjective
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unsettleableadjective
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well-settledadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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settlesimple
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settlessimple
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have settledperfect
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has settledperfect
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am settlingprogressive
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are settlingprogressive
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is settlingprogressive
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have been settlingperfect progressive
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has been settlingperfect progressive
Past
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settledsimple
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had settledperfect
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was settlingprogressive
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were settlingprogressive
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had been settlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of settle1
First recorded before 1000; Middle English setlen, setel(le) “to seat, place in a seat, be seated; sink down; descend,” Old English setlan (attested once) “to settle, seat, take a position of rest,” derivative of setl settle 2; compare Dutch zetelen
Origin of settle2
First recorded before 900; Middle English setle, setel(e), settel “seat, chair, bench, place for sitting,” Old English setl, sedl, sethl; cognate with German Sessel “armchair,” Gothic sitls “seat,” Latin sella (from unrecorded sedla “saddle”; akin to sit 1
Explanation
To settle means to come to order or rest, much as snow settles on the ground or dust settles on the dining room table. Settle has a number of meanings. After moving several times, you'll wish your parents would settle in one place for the rest of your school years. Have you ever heard your house creaking or groaning? That's the house settling. When adults tell children to calm down, they'll often say, "Settle down kids!" And as a legal term, you settle a lawsuit when the accuser and the accused come to an agreement without going to court.
Vocabulary lists containing settle
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 1
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The ACT Reading Test: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 1
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The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Last Thursday, Alonso had the players in for a full day but also had to settle into his new office, undertake in-house media duties and then take charge of his first training session.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
The team placed these artificial particles inside specially designed rotating pressure tanks that kept the marine snow suspended instead of allowing it to settle.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 12, 2026
“But there will be many cases where the theory is just too abstract, or too optimistic about what you can find, to settle the kinds of hard cases that come to the Supreme Court.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
Companies like UnitedHealth, Boeing, Verizon and General Electric, without admitting wrongdoing, chose to settle suits for tens of millions.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
They settle down on top of my booties in the bootie sack and that night it gets forty or fifty below and the cans of soda freeze and burst.
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
Once she settles in, the girl befriends other spirits and wins them over with her acceptance and understanding — including a few shunned by everyone else, like the famous No-Face.
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026
WTI settles at $69.50 a barrel, down 31% from the end of March for its biggest quarterly decline since 1Q 2020.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
These companies will purchase a doctor’s stake in the case at a reduced rate, then pocket a share of the payout if the case settles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
The term has been used to describe battles where two cars swap position repeatedly over a number of laps until the fight settles down and the fundamentally faster car establishes a gap.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
Mama’s voice trails off as she settles back into her cocoon.
From "Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero" by Kelly J. Baptist
While she is just starting to feel settled today, nearly a year later, she never would have expected the complicated and challenging emotions that would surface after the move — and how long they’d last.
From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026
Gold and silver futures settled the day higher in response to a shifting outlook toward inflation through the second half.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
Since Russia’s 2022 invasion, the conflict has settled into a grinding war of attrition, with both sides deeply dug in.
From Slate ● Jul. 10, 2026
When he was 5, his family moved to Los Angeles and settled into what he liked to joke was the “slums of Beverly Hills.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
As soon as the pixies had settled, Hadel hobbled to me, her wide eye boring into mine.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
Peluso was born in the Argentine city of Luján and lived there until she was 9, when her family moved to Spain, eventually settling in the southeastern city of Alicante.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
During my childhood, our family moved back and forth between the United States and the Philippines before eventually settling here.
From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026
In her song Wi$h Li$t, from her last album, Swift fantasised about settling down with Kelce, sketching out an idyllic future in which they have "a couple kids" and "a driveway with a basketball hoop".
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
Without cameras or timely released transcripts or audio, moments of pettiness, score settling, or open contempt for colleagues or parties by the justices can, and have, gone almost entirely unnoticed.
From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026
I rock back and forth in the blocks to get myself ready and take a deep breath before settling in.
From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
