settlement

noun

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set·tle·ment | \ ˈse-tᵊl-mənt

Definition of settlement

1 : the act or process of settling

2a : an act of bestowing or giving possession under legal sanction

b : the sum, estate, or income secured to one by such a settlement

3a : occupation by settlers

b : a place or region newly settled

c : a small village

4 : settlement house

5 : an agreement composing differences

6 : payment or adjustment of an account

Synonyms Example Sentences Learn More About settlement

Examples of settlement in a Sentence

I got the house in the divorce settlement. The parties have not been able to reach a settlement in the case. We were hoping for a quick settlement of the dispute between the neighbors. English settlements in North America. This was the island's first colonial settlement. They came upon the ruins of an ancient settlement.

Recent Examples on the Web The settlement covers borrowers who live in 38 states and Washington, DC. — Katie Lobosco, CNN, 13 Jan. 2022 The Justice Department outlined its position in the government’s first court filings since settlement negotiations that could have awarded the families hundreds of thousands of dollars broke down in mid-December. — Washington Post, 12 Jan. 2022 The settlement was widely panned, including by other legal observers. — Ankush Khardori, The New Republic, 12 Jan. 2022 The result was a roughly $2 billion settlement and repair work that is still ongoing. — Julie Bykowicz, WSJ, 12 Jan. 2022 Henry County officials did not return a request to confirm the settlement amount or that it had been paid. — Rosana Hughes, ajc, 12 Jan. 2022 Giuffre signed the $500,000 settlement with Epstein in November 2009 after suing him earlier that year. — Fortune, 12 Jan. 2022 Kaplan said the $500,000 settlement between Epstein and Giuffre didn’t involve the prince and didn’t bar a suit against him now. — Larry Neumeister, chicagotribune.com, 12 Jan. 2022 Here's why One of the settlement's terms was that the $1 million paid out to the Sierra Club and given to the conservancy would go toward environmental projects in southwest Jefferson County, where the power plant operates. — Lucas Aulbach, The Courier-Journal, 12 Jan. 2022

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'settlement.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Dictionary Entries Near settlement

settled production

settlement

settlement day

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Last Updated

15 Jan 2022

Cite this Entry

“Settlement.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/settlement. Accessed 26 Jan. 2022.

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More Definitions for settlement

settlement

noun

English Language Learners Definition of settlement

: a formal agreement or decision that ends an argument or dispute also : an amount of money that someone receives as part of such an agreement

: the act or process of settling an argument or disagreement

: the act of paying back money that is owed

See the full definition for settlement in the English Language Learners Dictionary

settlement

noun

set·tle·ment | \ ˈse-tᵊl-mənt

Kids Definition of settlement

1 : a formal agreement that ends an argument or dispute

2 : final payment (as of a bill)

3 : the act or fact of establishing colonies the settlement of New England

4 : a place or region newly settled

5 : a small village

settlement

noun

set·tle·ment

Legal Definition of settlement

1 : the act or process of settling

2a : an agreement reducing or resolving differences especially : an agreement between litigants that concludes the litigation the states finally agreed upon a settlement and a consent decree — W. J. Brennan, Jr. entered into a property settlement prior to the divorce

b : a formal and permanent grant or conveyance

c : the sum, estate, or income granted or paid under a settlement if the monetary limits of a defendant's insurance policy can be discovered in order to obtain reasonable settlements— J. H. Friedenthal et al.

3 : closing settlement costs

4 : the transfer of funds between a payor bank and a collecting bank in order to complete transactions for customers