Synonyms

settle for

British

verb

(intr, preposition) to accept or agree to in spite of dispute or dissatisfaction

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

settle for Idioms

Accept or be satisfied with as a compromise, as in He really wanted a bigger raise but decided to settle for what they offered. [Mid-1900s]

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:

settle for

“You don’t have to settle for the Sunday scaries. We let Mondays ruin our Sundays. Stop. Be present in your life instead of accepting that default.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026

The contracts settle for $1 if your prediction is correct, and $0 if it isn’t.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026

After marching down the field on a 13-play opening drive, a third-down sack forced the Trojans to settle for a field-goal attempt.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026

The 16-year-old played 13 times last season, but has had to settle for a place on the bench so far this campaign - until now.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

By now there were tummies rumbling from one end of the vast estate to the other, and the villagers would not settle for less.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023