settlement

noun

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

Keep scrolling for more

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

About $105,000 on Cardinals tickets The settlement lays out opposed views of how public funds are to be used at charter schools. — Craig Harris, azcentral, "Arizona charter school operators agree to pay back $180K spent on sports tickets, personal care," 13 June 2019 According to the settlement offer submitted to the county in May, the new plans for River Cross call for 300 fewer apartments and a 70 percent reduction in commercial space. — Martin E. Comas, orlandosentinel.com, "Seminole County rejects River Cross settlement offer," 12 June 2019 In the early years of European settlement, people really liked certain colors—varieties of red, mustard, blue, pink—which is why the Dior pieces look so traditional. — Tatum Dooley, Teen Vogue, "The History Behind The Star Print of Dior's Latest Swimsuit Collection, Toile de Jouy," 12 June 2019 The settlement concludes a three-year dispute related to the scandal that led to Bentley’s resignation as governor in April 2017. — Mike Cason | Mcason@al.com, al.com, "Spencer Collier settles lawsuit against former Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley," 12 June 2019 At the time, MGA had just relaunched Bratz following the settlement of a series of lawsuits between MGA and Mattel about intellectual property rights. — Paul R. La Monica, CNN, "The maker of Bratz is still trying to buy Mattel," 12 June 2019 Cooper was the lead attorney in a Washington state case brought on similar grounds that resulted in an $85 million fine and settlement that mandated reforms. — oregonlive.com, "Court case raises fundamental questions about power in Oregon’s mental health system," 11 June 2019 Several states dissented from the Justice Department’s settlement roughly 20 years ago, pushing for tougher sanctions to curtail Microsoft’s ability to use its dominance in the Windows operating system to thwart competition in other technologies. — Mae Anderson, The Denver Post, "Colorado among states suing to stop $26.5 billion Sprint-T-Mobile deal," 11 June 2019 Several states dissented from the Justice Department's settlement roughly 20 years ago, pushing for tougher sanctions to curtail Microsoft's ability to use its dominance in the Windows operating system to thwart competition in other technologies. — Tali Arbel And Mae Anderson, Detroit Free Press, "Michigan joins lawsuit to stop $26.5 billion Sprint-T-Mobile deal," 11 June 2019

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.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about settlement

Dictionary Entries near settlement

Statistics for settlement

Last Updated

16 Jun 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for settlement

The first known use of settlement was in 1648

See more words from the same year

Keep scrolling for more

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