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

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Etymology

Origin of settlement

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

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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

"I want to thank the FDA for their assistance in reaching this settlement and I am looking forward to moving on to the next chapter of my life".

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

A statement added: "The government has reached a settlement with Sir Oliver following his dismissal. We will not be commenting further on HR matters."

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

Bank of America BAC -1.14%decrease; down pointing triangle reported a lower profit, mostly tied to a regulatory settlement charge, while Morgan Stanley’s overall profit and revenue climbed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

To reconstruct Australia's Indigenous population before European settlement, the researchers brought together ethnographic observations, archaeological findings, genetic reconstructions, and computer models.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026

“It was over by Maxwell Street. Victor was living at a settlement house there. Before he died, he went back to the old ways, yarmulke and all.”

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

The university had long spent more than it brought in, driven by rising athletics costs, pandemic expenses and major legal settlements.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

"This is a hotspot – there are seven settlements around here," Amin Khalil told me.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

In 2015 researchers used it to find a network of previously unknown “garden cities,” small settlements that were well-integrated into the natural landscape, hidden beneath the Amazon canopy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

Salih said that too often, what begins as a temporary solution for refugees becomes permanent, with children born in displacement settlements becoming adults there with children of their own.

From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026

And they lived in what White viewed as well-ordered settlements, with big, flourishing fields of maize. symbols.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

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Related Words

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

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