settle down
Britishverb
-
(also tr) to make or become quiet and orderly
-
(often foll by to) to apply oneself diligently
please settle down to work
-
to adopt an orderly and routine way of life, take up a permanent post, etc, esp after marriage
-
Begin living a stable, orderly life; also, marry. For example, After traveling all over the world for years, he decided to settle down in his home town , or Her parents wished she would settle down and raise a family . [Early 1600s]
-
Become calm, less nervous, or less restless, as in Come on, children, it's time to settle down . [Mid-1800s]
-
Apply oneself seriously, as in If you don't settle down to your homework, you'll never get it done . [First half of 1800s]
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.
They then relocated to Texas a few months after lockdown—explaining at the time that they realized they wanted to settle down in a place where their kids could spend more time in nature.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
A decade later, it’s hard to believe someone wrote that with a straight face, especially as polls show that men are more eager than women to settle down and build families.
From Salon ● Jun. 29, 2026
Front-month gold futures settle down 1% to $4,675 a troy ounce, while silver closes off 1.8% to $75.003 a troy ounce.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 27, 2026
My parents’ choice to settle down in Los Angeles had to do with climate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2026
A body would be lucky to settle down with her.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
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.
