Definition Definition

settle - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'settle' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Settle [ n.]
- A seat of any kind.
- A bench; especially, a bench with a high back.
- A place made lower than the rest; a wide step or platform lower than some other part.
- To place in a fixed or permanent condition; to make firm, steady, or stable; to establish; to fix; esp., to establish in life; to fix in business, in a home, or the like.
- To establish in the pastoral office; to ordain or install as pastor or rector of a church, society, or parish; as, to settle a minister.
- To cause to be no longer in a disturbed condition; to render quiet; to still; to calm; to compose.
- To clear of dregs and impurities by causing them to sink; to render pure or clear; -- said of a liquid; as, to settle coffee, or the grounds of coffee.
- To restore or bring to a smooth, dry, or passable condition; -- said of the ground, of roads, and the like; as, clear weather settles the roads.
- To cause to sink; to lower; to depress; hence, also, to render close or compact; as, to settle the contents of a barrel or bag by shaking it.
- To determine, as something which is exposed to doubt or question; to free from unscertainty or wavering; to make sure, firm, or constant; to establish; to compose; to quiet; as, to settle the mind when agitated; to settle questions of law; to settle the succession to a throne; to settle an allowance.
- To adjust, as something in discussion; to make up; to compose; to pacify; as, to settle a quarrel.
- To adjust, as accounts; to liquidate; to balance; as, to settle an account.
- Hence, to pay; as, to settle a bill.
- To plant with inhabitants; to colonize; to people; as, the French first settled Canada; the Puritans settled New England; Plymouth was settled in 1620.
2 . Settle [ v. i.]
- To become fixed or permanent; to become stationary; to establish one's self or itself; to assume a lasting form, condition, direction, or the like, in place of a temporary or changing state.
- To fix one's residence; to establish a dwelling place or home; as, the Saxons who settled in Britain.
- To enter into the married state, or the state of a householder.
- To be established in an employment or profession; as, to settle in the practice of law.
- To become firm, dry, and hard, as the ground after the effects of rain or frost have disappeared; as, the roads settled late in the spring.
- To become clear after being turbid or obscure; to clarify by depositing matter held in suspension; as, the weather settled; wine settles by standing.
- To sink to the bottom; to fall to the bottom, as dregs of a liquid, or the sediment of a reserveir.
- To sink gradually to a lower level; to subside, as the foundation of a house, etc.
- To become calm; to cease from agitation.
- To adjust differences or accounts; to come to an agreement; as, he has settled with his creditors.
- To make a jointure for a wife.

Meaning of 'settle' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . settle [ v]
Meaning (1):
- become resolved, fixed, established, or quiet
Example in sentence:
  • A cough settled in her chest;
  • Her mood settled into lethargy;
  • it is settling to rain;
  • The roar settled to a thunder;
  • The wind settled in the West
Meaning (2):
- come to terms
Example in sentence:
  • After some discussion we finally made up
Meaning (3):
- settle into a position, usually on a surface or ground
Example in sentence:
  • dust settled on the roofs
Meaning (4):
- fix firmly
Example in sentence:
  • He ensconced himself in the chair
Meaning (5):
- become settled or established and stable in one's residence or life style
Example in sentence:
  • He finally settled down
Meaning (6):
- establish or develop as a residence
Example in sentence:
  • He settled the farm 200 years ago;
  • This land was settled by Germans
Meaning (7):
- get one's revenge for a wrong or an injury
Example in sentence:
  • I finally settled with my old enemy
Meaning (8):
- make final; put the last touches on; put into final form
Example in sentence:
  • let's finalize the proposal
Meaning (9):
- come as if by falling
Example in sentence:
  • Night fell;
  • Silence fell
Meaning (10):
- arrange or fix in the desired order
Example in sentence:
  • She settled the teacart
Meaning (11):
- bring to an end; settle conclusively
Example in sentence:
  • The case was decided;
  • The father adjudicated when the sons were quarreling over their inheritance;
  • The judge decided the case in favor of the plaintiff
Meaning (12):
- take up residence and become established
Example in sentence:
  • The immigrants settled in the Midwest
Meaning (13):
- become clear by the sinking of particles
Example in sentence:
  • the liquid gradually settled
Meaning (14):
- sink down or precipitate
Example in sentence:
  • the mud subsides when the waters become calm
Meaning (15):
- go under
Example in sentence:
  • The raft sank and its occupants drowned
Meaning (16):
- form a community
Example in sentence:
  • The Swedes settled in Minnesota
Meaning (17):
- end a legal dispute by arriving at a settlement
Example in sentence:
  • The two parties finally settled
Meaning (18):
- settle conclusively; come to terms
Example in sentence:
  • We finally settled the argument
Meaning (19):
- accept despite lack of complete satisfaction
Example in sentence:
  • We settled for a lower price