Meaning & use
settlement
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Meanings
nouncountable
A small community or group of homes built in a place where few people lived before.
Grammar: Often an early or remote community: a mining settlement.
Patterns
- a settlement of something
- establish a settlement
The explorers built a small settlement near the river.
A fishing settlement grew around the harbor.
Archaeologists uncovered an ancient settlement.
nouncountablelegal
An official agreement that ends a dispute or a legal case, often involving payment.
Grammar: Often used with reach or agree: reach a settlement.
Patterns
- reach a settlement
- a settlement with someone
- a settlement of something
The two companies reached a settlement and avoided a trial.
She accepted a cash settlement from the insurer.
A peace settlement ended the war.
noununcountablebusiness
The act of paying a debt or bill in full.
Grammar: Often followed by of: settlement of the invoice.
Patterns
- settlement of something
- in settlement of something
Prompt settlement of the invoice earns a discount.
He sent a check in settlement of the account.
noununcountabletechnical
The slow sinking of a building or ground into the earth.
Grammar: Used in construction and geology.
Patterns
- settlement of something
Engineers monitored the settlement of the new bridge.
Cracks in the wall were caused by uneven settlement.
Word forms
| plural | settlements |
|---|
Common combinations
- reach a settlement
- The parties reached a settlement after a week of talks.
- out-of-court settlement
- They agreed an out-of-court settlement.
- peace settlement
- A peace settlement was signed in the capital.
- settlement offer
- The firm made a generous settlement offer.
- early settlement
- The settlement was an early one for the settlers.
- human settlement
- The valley has been a human settlement for centuries.
Synonyms and how they differ
- colony
- A colony is ruled by a distant country, whereas a settlement is just a community that has been founded.
- agreement
- Agreement is general, but a settlement specifically ends a dispute.
- outpost
- An outpost is a remote post at the edge of a territory, and is smaller than a settlement.
- compromise
- A compromise involves both sides giving something up, while a settlement can be one-sided with payment.
Opposites
Word family
- settle verb
- to make a home or end a dispute
- settler noun
- a person who goes to live in a new place
- settled adjective
- stable or resolved
- resettlement noun
- moving people to a new place to live
Commonly confused: settlement or settlement?
settlement vs settlement
Settlement is sometimes confused with sentiment because of the similar sounds, but sentiment means a feeling or opinion.
Practice
After months of arguing, the two firms finally reached a ___ and dropped the lawsuit.
Choose one answer.
A settlement is an agreement that ends a dispute, and reach a settlement is a common collocation. A settler is a person, not an agreement.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “settlement”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.