settle down

phrasal verb

settled down; settling down; settles down

1

: to become quiet, calm, or orderly

Settle down, children.

When things settle down here, I'll come for a visit.

2

: to begin to live a quiet and steady life by getting a regular job, getting married, etc.

They swore they would never settle down and get married.

3

: to put oneself into a comfortable position

He settled down for the night.

4

: to become quiet and begin giving one's attention to something

They quickly settled down to their work.

Examples of settle down in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Fleetwood had two bogeys and a birdie on the front nine but settled down from there. —Steve Galluzzo, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2026

The talk of settling down and staying in the crib feels like moodboard fodder, without any of the scraps of conversation and vivid stories that give a fly-on-the-wall view of actual personal relationships. —Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 19 Feb. 2026

Once a floor supervisor took over the call then those randy, rowdy voices would settle down, usually. —Literary Hub, 18 Feb. 2026

But just as life should be settling down, the world around them is growing more tense. —Leo Barraclough, Variety, 18 Feb. 2026

Rhymes for settle down

• chinatown
• tumbledown
• adown
• blowdown
• breakdown
• countdown
• crackdown
• crosstown
• downtown
• drawdown
• dropdown
• facedown