settlement

[set-l-muhnt]

noun

1. the act or state of settling or the state of being settled.

2. the act of making stable or putting on a permanent basis.

3. a state of stability or permanence.

4. an arrangement or adjustment, as of business affairs or a disagreement.

5. an agreement signed after labor negotiations between union and management.

6. the terms reached in this agreement.

7. the settling of persons in a new country or place.

8. a colony, especially in its early stages.

9. a small community, village, or group of houses in a thinly populated area.

10. a community formed and populated by members of a particular religious or ideological group.

    a Shaker settlement.

11. the satisfying of a claim or demand; a coming to terms.

12. Law.

    1. final disposition of an estate or the like.

    2. the settling settle settling of property, title, etc., upon a person.

    3. the property so settled. settle.

13. British.

    1. legal residence in a specific place.

    2. (of a pauper) the right to claim food and shelter from an official agency or specific town or district.

14. Also called settlement house. Social Work.,  an establishment in an underprivileged area providing social services to local residents.

15. a subsidence or sinking of all or part of a structure.

settlement

/ ˈsɛtəlmənt /

noun

1. the act or state of settling or being settled

2. the establishment of a new region; colonization

3. a place newly settled; colony

4. a collection of dwellings forming a community, esp on a frontier

5. a community formed by members of a group, esp of a religious sect

6. a public building used to provide educational and general welfare facilities for persons living in deprived areas

7. a subsidence of all or part of a structure

8. 1. the payment of an outstanding account, invoice, charge, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      settlement day

9. an adjustment or agreement reached in matters of finance, business, etc

10. law

    1. a conveyance, usually to trustees, of property to be enjoyed by several persons in succession

    2. the deed or other instrument conveying such property

    3. the determination of a dispute, etc, by mutual agreement without resorting to legal proceedings

Other Word Forms

• nonsettlement noun
• oversettlement noun
• presettlement noun
• resettlement noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of settlement¹

First recorded in 1620–30; settle ¹ + -ment

Example Sentences

Monday’s settlement may moot their legislation by resolving merchants’ core complaints.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Visa V and Mastercard MA each announced Monday morning that they reached a settlement agreement with a merchant group in a suit that stretches back to 2005.

Read more on MarketWatch

Lawsuits have been dropped, settlements have been renegotiated in favor of companies and a proposed consumer-friendly crypto regulation was killed outright.

Read more on Salon

Promoting internationalism these days feels a lot like embracing a Palestinian state when the material basis for such a state is disappearing beneath a rising tide of Israeli settlements and bombs.

Read more on Salon

The settlement being discussed would lead to a decline in those fees for a certain number of years.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• agreement 
• arrangement 
• compensation 
• contract 
• deal 
• establishment 
• payment 
• resolution