1
as in colonists
a person who settles in a new region
settlers learning to live in peace with the natives
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2
as in immigrants
one that leaves one place to settle in another
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
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Recent Examples of settlers
Footage from one camera shows approximately two dozen settlers dressed in black entering the village.
—
Julia Frankel, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2026
Many indigenous groups on this continent whom settlers swindled, attacked, and displaced have a long history of using sweat lodges both for cleaning the body and in ritual.
—Madeline Leung Coleman, Curbed, 25 Feb. 2026
Last week, settlers killed a Palestinian-American man, Nasrallah Abu Siyam.
—Aref Tufaha, Arkansas Online, 24 Feb. 2026
From the earliest settlers during the colonial era to the large and vibrant communities found today in cities such as Miami, Tampa, and Orlando, Jewish individuals and families have made lasting contributions to Florida’s economic development, cultural growth, and social progress.
—Jason Touvi, Sun Sentinel, 24 Feb. 2026
First, settlers pushed in on Indians and drove away their game.
—Literary Hub, 23 Feb. 2026
Most American cities are organized on an unrelenting grid, an artifact of early European settlers’ simple and unimaginative approach to land surveying and real estate speculation.
—Edward Keegan, Chicago Tribune, 22 Feb. 2026
When discovered during Arizona’s territorial days by Anglo settlers, it was erroneously thought to be the work of the Aztec emperor, Montezuma.
—Roger Naylor, AZCentral.com, 20 Feb. 2026
White settlers, however, viewed the growing Ghost Dance practice as a harbinger of insurrection.
—Marc Ramirez, USA TODAY, 29 Dec. 2024
Julia Frankel, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2026
Many indigenous groups on this continent whom settlers swindled, attacked, and displaced have a long history of using sweat lodges both for cleaning the body and in ritual.
—Madeline Leung Coleman, Curbed, 25 Feb. 2026
Last week, settlers killed a Palestinian-American man, Nasrallah Abu Siyam.
—Aref Tufaha, Arkansas Online, 24 Feb. 2026
From the earliest settlers during the colonial era to the large and vibrant communities found today in cities such as Miami, Tampa, and Orlando, Jewish individuals and families have made lasting contributions to Florida’s economic development, cultural growth, and social progress.
—Jason Touvi, Sun Sentinel, 24 Feb. 2026
First, settlers pushed in on Indians and drove away their game.
—Literary Hub, 23 Feb. 2026
Most American cities are organized on an unrelenting grid, an artifact of early European settlers’ simple and unimaginative approach to land surveying and real estate speculation.
—Edward Keegan, Chicago Tribune, 22 Feb. 2026
When discovered during Arizona’s territorial days by Anglo settlers, it was erroneously thought to be the work of the Aztec emperor, Montezuma.
—Roger Naylor, AZCentral.com, 20 Feb. 2026
White settlers, however, viewed the growing Ghost Dance practice as a harbinger of insurrection.
—Marc Ramirez, USA TODAY, 29 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for settlers
Noun
-
Decades before the Declaration of Independence, colonists organized boycotts and public demonstrations opposing British rule.—
Karl W. Bickel,
Baltimore Sun,
24 Feb. 2026
-
His outrageous attacks on the citizens of Minnesota are as egregious as anything the British Redcoats did to provoke American colonists into revolution, that started with the Battle of Lexington (painting).—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Tasked with the arrest, detention and removal of undocumented immigrants, ICE deportation officers were previously required to complete 20 weeks, or roughly 100 days, of training before beginning their official duties.—
Blake Ellis,
CNN Money,
27 Feb. 2026
-
The transportation department created a rule in February preventing states from issuing or renewing licenses to certain immigrants, including many if not all of the 20,000 drivers affected by the judge's tentative decision.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Editor's Favorites The creators of Miss Jessie’s are pioneers of the natural hair movement.—
Kieaundria Bellamy,
InStyle,
21 Feb. 2026
-
Mustaine is revered as one of the pioneers of thrash metal, a subgenre that combines the breakneck velocity of early American hardcore bands such as Circle Jerks and Misfits with the precision and power of British metal groups like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden.—
Jon Wiederhorn,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
In January, Border Patrol apprehended 151 migrants in Big Bend Sector.—
Lauren Villagran,
USA Today,
28 Feb. 2026
-
Pakistan launched a sweeping crackdown in October 2023 to expel migrants without documents, urging those in the country to leave of their own accord to avoid arrest and forcibly expelling others.—
Munir Ahmed,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The city’s Hadhramis are descendants of the emigrants from Yemen’s Hadhramout region who began settling in Johor in the 1800s.—
Jeff Chu,
Travel + Leisure,
7 Feb. 2026
-
Malinin is the son of two former Olympic skaters, Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov, Russian emigrants who competed for Uzbekistan but came to Virginia in 1998.—
Sally Jenkins,
The Atlantic,
1 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The Bekaa Valley is home to numerous camps housing Syrian refugees.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
27 Feb. 2026
-
His parents were Hungarian refugees who worked in catering at Heathrow airport.—
David Mark,
The Washington Examiner,
27 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Settlers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/settlers. Accessed 28 Feb. 2026.
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