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 of settler

• 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

Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, a Black man known as the city’s first non-native settler, sold his properties in Chicago. —Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 7 May 2026

There’s nothing inherently antisemitic about protesting over the dispossession of Palestinians, and the attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank by settlers, which appear to be sanctioned by the Israeli government. —Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 7 May 2026

Burney Falls is named after settler Samuel Burney. —Corey Schmidt, Sacbee.com, 6 May 2026

By then, the salubrious environment that Central Florida’s earliest settlers found had already been transformed many times over. —Stephen Hudak, The Orlando Sentinel, 4 May 2026

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