settlement

American  

[set-l-muhnt] / ˈsɛt l mənt /

noun

settlements plural

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 of property, title, etc., upon a person.

    3. the property so settled.

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.

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settlement British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• settlements
  plural

Etymology

Origin of settlement

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

Explanation

A settlement is a colony or any small community of people. If a bunch of people build houses on the moon together, they’ll have the first lunar settlement. A settlement is also the resolution of something such as a lawsuit. One kind of settlement is a place where people live. This can be a community that's smaller than a town, like a village. Also, if one country establishes a colony somewhere else, that can be called a settlement. The other kind of settlement happens when something is settled, like the end of a disagreement. A lawsuit is ended if there's a settlement — both parties make an agreement that often involves money. A settlement brings closure and resolution.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

settlement settlements

She knows a court-determined settlement might produce a better outcome for her, as she has three children from her first marriage, and Dave has only one from his.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

Meanwhile Columbia, Penn, Brown and others have made settlement deals.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

The company tried three times to force a settlement through bankruptcy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

To my surprise, the proceeds from the sale were credited to my money-market settlement fund, but I did not receive the dividend.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026

I look and I look and I don’t see no settlement but who knows what’s around the bends and curves?

From "The Knife of Never Letting Go" by Patrick Ness

YouTube reached a confidential settlement with R.K.C. in June, with TikTok and Snap following with their own settlements on July 1 and July 20 respectively.

From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026

One of the more unexpected findings was that human infrastructure, including roads and settlements, sometimes caused animals to become less watchful.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026

Raised by a single mother in Korogocho, one of Nairobi's poorest informal settlements, Marius describes himself as "something like illiterate", and sees few options in a country where 40 percent live below the poverty line.

From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026

The projected annual cost of the union settlements and employee raises is well over $1 billion a year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

During the summer of 1812, the Indigenous alliance struck US forts and squatter settlements.

From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

Related Words

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