settlement

American  

[set-l-muhnt] / ˈsɛt l mənt /

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 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

---

Other Word Forms

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

Etymology

Origin of settlement

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

Example Sentences

Dub Advisors resolved the matter with the Massachusetts Securities Division through a settlement agreement in which the firm didn’t admit or deny breaking the law.

From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026

The two sides previously attempted mediation in February without reaching a settlement.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 2, 2026

WTI rises 3.3% to $102.88, its highest settlement since July of 2022.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

The settlement followed an investigation into lending practices that Oregon’s then-attorney general, in a news release, described as “predatory and harmful.”

From Salon • Mar. 30, 2026

The term conveyed the political fear, so potent among the Antifederalist critics of the constitutional settlement of 1788, that the states would be absorbed by the new federal government.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Related Words

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