settle

verb

1. 1

   To conclude or resolve (something): To determine (something which was exposed to doubt or question); to resolve conclusively; to set or fix (a time, an order of succession, etc).

   His fears were settled

   She hopes to settle any questions about the plans.

   The question of the succession to a throne needs to be settled.

   It is a Pamphlet, [...] It will ſettle the Wavering, confirm the Doubtful, inſtruct the Ignorant, inflame the Clamorous, though it never be once looked into.

2. 2

   To conclude or resolve (something): To conclude, to cause (a dispute) to finish.

   to settle a quarrel

3. 3

   To conclude or resolve (something): To conclude, to cause (a dispute) to finish. In particular, to terminate (a lawsuit), usually out of court, by agreement of all parties.

4. 4

   To conclude or resolve (something): To close, liquidate or balance (an account) by payment, sometimes of less than is owed or due.

   The coffee was only surface wet and looked worse than it actually was and as he returned to the Reception Desk to settle his account and give back his room key, he was met again by the young man who was still wearing his rucksack.

5. 5

   To conclude or resolve (something): To pay (a bill or debt).

6. 6

   To conclude or resolve (something): To adjust differences or accounts; to come to an agreement on matters in dispute.

   He has settled with his creditors.

7. 7

   To conclude or resolve (something): To conclude a lawsuit by agreement of the parties rather than a decision of a court.

   Of course, certainty is a value in all systems of conflict of laws—including those of the United States. Certainty for litigants decreases litigation and transaction costs and increases the chances that cases will settle.

8. 8

   To place or arrange in(to) a desired (especially: calm) state, or make final disposition of (something).

   to settle my affairs

   to settle her estate

9. 9

   To place or arrange in(to) a desired (especially: calm) state, or make final disposition of (something). To put into (proper) place; to make sit or lie properly.

   The curate settled his collar, coughed, and, making an effort, knocked.

   She twisted out from under the claim of his palm to settle her feet on the floor.

   Pausing only to settle his cloak and set his Regent's circlet on his hair, he strode to the rail and waited.

10. 10

    To place or arrange in(to) a desired (especially: calm) state, or make final disposition of (something). To cause to no longer be in a disturbed, confused or stormy; to quiet; to calm (nerves, waters, a boisterous or rebellious child, etc).

    God settled then the huge whale-bearing lake, / And Tenedos we reach'd; [...]

    [I]t drawing towards night, and they hoping that ſleep might ſettle his brains, with all haſt they got him to bed; [...]

11. 11

    To place or arrange in(to) a desired (especially: calm) state, or make final disposition of (something). To silence, especially by force.

12. 12

    To place or arrange in(to) a desired (especially: calm) state, or make final disposition of (something). To kill.

    I poured a charge of powder over the nipple so as not tu miss goin' off if possible. Click! went the match,—up jumped the flock, or tried tu. As they bunched up, Peggy blazed intu 'em, settlin’ how many I didn't know, …

13. 13

    To place or arrange in(to) a desired (especially: calm) state, or make final disposition of (something). To bring or restore (ground, roads, etc) to a smooth, dry, or passable condition.

    clear weather settles the roads

14. 14

    To become calm, quiet, or orderly; to stop being agitated.

    The weather settled.

    Wait until the crowd settles before speaking.

    [T]il the fury of his Highneſſe ſettle / Come not before him.

    With Vardy working tirelessly up front, chasing lost causes and generally making a nuisance of himself, Sevilla were never allowed to settle on a night when the atmosphere was electric inside the King Power Stadium.

15. 15

    To become calm, quiet, or orderly; to stop being agitated. To become firm, dry, and hard, like the ground after the effects of rain or frost have disappeared.

    The roads settled late in the spring.

16. 16

    To establish or become established in a steady position: To place in(to) a fixed or permanent condition or position or on(to) a permanent basis; to make firm, steady, or stable; to establish or fix.

    And he settled his countenance stedfastly [upon him], until he was ashamed.

17. 17

    To establish or become established in a steady position: In particular, to establish in life; to fix in business, in a home, etc.

    Now thirteen Years of Age were ſwiftly run, / When the fond Father thought the time drew on / Of ſettling in the World his only Son.

    But I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever.

18. 18

    obsoleteTo establish or become established in a steady position: In particular, to establish in life; to fix in business, in a home, etc. In particular, to establish in pastoral office; to ordain or install as pastor or rector of a church, society, or parish.

    to settle a minister

19. 19

    To establish or become established in a steady position: To formally, legally secure (an annuity, property, title, etc) on (a person).

20. 20

    obsoleteTo establish or become established in a steady position: To make a jointure for a spouse.

    He sighs with most success that settles well.

21. 21

    To establish or become established in a steady position: To become married, or a householder.

    As People marry now, and ſettle; / Fierce Love abates his uſual Mettle: [...]

22. 22

    To establish or become established in a steady position: To be established in a profession or in employment.

    He is settled in the profession of law at Rochester, New York.

    Following his avowed aim to settle in his profession of medicine, Sloane arranged to call on Dr Thomas Sydenham, the foremost physician of his day in London, known as 'the English Hippocrates'.

    The likely explanation for this is the fact that between the two groups one is now settling in the profession while the older group is preparing to retire and are no longer keen to gain new skills.

23. 23

    To establish or become established in a steady position: To become stationary or fixed; to come to rest.

    But then the Wind came about, and ſetled in the West for many dayes, ſo as we could make little or no way, and were ſometimes in purpoſe to turne backe.

    Chyle [...] runs through all the intermediate colors until it settles in an intense red.

    They settled down at an inn.

    The hawk settled on a branch.

24. 24

    To fix one's residence in a place; to establish a dwelling place, home, or colony. (Compare settle down.)

    the Saxons who settled in Britain

    The British could identify very few ‘village elders’ in the colony. The reason was that the majority of the Chinese in Hong Kong were male immigrants with no village to which to attach themselves. They tended to settle in an area known as Sheung Wan (the Upper Bay) on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island.

25. 25

    To fix one's residence in a place; to establish a dwelling place, home, or colony. (Compare settle down.) To colonize (an area); to migrate to (a land, territory, site, etc).

    the French first settled Canada

    the Puritans settled New England

    Plymouth was settled in 1620.

    It was in the year 1794, that an English family went out to settle in Canada.

26. 26

    To move (people) to (a land or territory), so as to colonize it; to cause (people) to take residence in (a place).

    Rome began to settle displaced or disenfranchised citizens, veterans, and allies in colonies beyond Italy.

27. 27

    To sink, or cause (something, or impurities within it) to sink down, especially so as to become clear or compact. To clear or purify (a liquid) of dregs and impurities by causing them to sink.

    to settle coffee, or the grounds of coffee

28. 28

    To sink, or cause (something, or impurities within it) to sink down, especially so as to become clear or compact. To cause to sink down or to be deposited (dregs, sediment, etc).

    to settle the sediment out of the water

29. 29

    To sink, or cause (something, or impurities within it) to sink down, especially so as to become clear or compact. To render compact or solid; to cause to become packed down.

    to settle the chips in the potato chip bag by shaking it

30. 30

    To sink, or cause (something, or impurities within it) to sink down, especially so as to become clear or compact. To sink to the bottom of a body of liquid, as dregs of a liquid, or the sediment of a reservoir.

31. 31

    To sink, or cause (something, or impurities within it) to sink down, especially so as to become clear or compact. To sink gradually to a lower level; to subside, for example the foundation of a house, etc.

    Sometimes a tub will settle at one corner, causing the rim to slope.

32. 32

    To sink, or cause (something, or impurities within it) to sink down, especially so as to become clear or compact. To become compact due to sinking.

    The chips in the bag of potato chips settled during shipping.

33. 33

    To sink, or cause (something, or impurities within it) to sink down, especially so as to become clear or compact. To become clear due to the sinking of sediment. (Used especially of liquid. Also used figuratively.)

    wine settles by standing

34. 34

    Of an animal: to make or become pregnant.

    Some mares do not show signs of being in heat even when tried ("teased") regularly with a stallion, but they often can be settled either by natural or artificial service, provided the approximate time of ovulation is determined and they are not suffering from either a diseased or abnormal condition of the reproductive system.

    During March, 1926, two more mares were bred to him and on February 14, 1927 one of them foaled a perfectly formed bay stud foal. It is not known whether or not the other mare settled for she was never returned for trial.

    This older mare created many, many problems for us in terms of trying to get the mare to settle. She came to us in January, and her record shows fairly consistent heats, but she had numerous problems which will be outlined in Example l0.

    Those sperm may still be viable, enabling the stallion to settle mares for a while until he runs out of mature sperm and has no more coming on because of the gap in production while he was sick or injured.

noun

1. 1

   archaicA seat of any kind.

   sit on a settle of joy with angels

   If hunger drive the Pagans from their dens, One, 'gainst a settle breaketh both his shins;

   "The gloom of those failing embers," exclaimed Francesca, "Has infected us both!" and, rising from the low settle, she lighted the lamp, and flung some smaller wood on the hearth, and a cheerful blaze kindled at once.

   [The] Queen or eorl's wife, with a train of maidens, bore ale-bowl or mead-bowl round the hall, from the high settle of king or ealdorman in the midst to the mead benches ranged around its walls, while the gleeman sang the hero-songs

2. 2

   archaicA long bench with a high back and arms, often with chest or storage space underneath.

   Beneath its shade, the place of state, / On oaken settle Marmion sate, / And viewed around the blazing hearth.

   Let us return now to the little girl we left feigning to sleep soundly upon a settle in the kitchen.

   Nineteen persons were gathered here. Of these, […] John Pitcher, a neighbouring dairyman, the shepherd's father-in-law, lolled in the settle; […]

   By the fireside, the big arm-chair […] fondly cronied with two venerable settles within the chimney corner.

3. 3

   obsoleteA place made lower than the rest; a wide step or platform lower than some other part. (Compare a depression.)

   And from the bottom upon the ground, even to the lower settle, shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit.

Forms

plural

settles

past tense

settled

past participle

settled

present participle

settling

third person singular

settles