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

In game two, the teenagers settled down a bit, cut down on their unforced errors and got ahead early. —Todd Boss, Forbes.com, 4 May 2025

For now, Trump’s saber rattling has settled down to a 90-day, across-the-board tariff of 10 percent for most countries (with the notable exception of China), but even that can quickly become a surcharge of many thousands of dollars. —Will Peischel, Curbed, 30 Apr. 2025

Cobweb has worked hard to overcome his separation anxiety and settles down quickly with a little attention or a treat. —Trish Stinger, Kansas City Star, 16 Apr. 2025

From there, Díaz settled down and struck out the next two batters for a save. —Will Sammon, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025

Rhymes for settle down

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