settler

noun

set·​tler ˈse-tᵊl-ər 

ˈset-lər

1

: one that settles something

a settler of disputes

2

: someone who settles in a new region or colony

the first settlers of New England

Synonyms

• pioneer
• colonist

Examples of settler in a Sentence

settlers learning to live in peace with the natives

in 1889 Jane Addams, in an effort to provide Chicago's latest wave of settlers with much-needed services, founded the city's first settlement house

Recent Examples on the Web

In all of 2024, OCHA recorded about 1,420 settler attacks and five Palestinian deaths. —Eleanor Beardsley, NPR, 12 Aug. 2025

Netanyahu’s comments came against the backdrop of recent allegations that extremist settlers had targeted a historic church in the West Bank, and the IDF had deliberately targeted a church in Gaza. —Amelie Botbol, FOXNews.com, 10 Aug. 2025

Kansas City’s first settlers began to arrive in the early 1800s. —Dominick Williams august 10, Kansas City Star, 10 Aug. 2025

But the immediate return of Israeli shelling, captured here in detail, invokes the ever-present background of settler violence. —Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 7 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing settler

• settler colonial
• settler colonialism
• settler-colonialist
• settler colony

Kids Definition

settler

noun

set·​tler ˈset-lər 

-ᵊl-ər

: a person who settles in a new region : colonist