settlement

noun

set·​tle·​ment ˈse-tᵊl-mənt 

1

: the act or process of settling

2

a

: an act of bestowing or giving possession under legal sanction

b

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

3

a

: 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

• accord
• agreement
• bargain
• compact
• contract
• convention
• covenant
• deal
• disposition
• pact
• understanding

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

There's only one week left to file a claim in the Cash App class-action settlement. —Kate Irwin, PCMAG, 11 Nov. 2024

Price’s notice to the sheriff on Friday comes nearly three years to the day after Monk, 45, was declared dead after being found face-down in his cell next to a puddle of urine and uneaten food, according to a lawsuit filed by his family that resulted in a $7 million settlement with the county. —Nate Gartrell, The Mercury News, 8 Nov. 2024

The company disclosed a gain of $46.0 million from a litigation settlement with AviaGames, impacting the financial results for the nine months ended September 30, 2024. —Quartz Bot, Quartz, 8 Nov. 2024

To pay for the $25 million settlement, Weisselberg’s spreadsheet laid out $3 million coming from cash accounts, $7 million from hedge fund investments, another $3 million from Trump’s businesses and $12 million from a lender named Ladder Capital. —Dan Alexander, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1589, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing settlement

• out-of-court settlement
• pre-settlement
• settlement house
• viatical settlement

Kids Definition

settlement

noun

set·​tle·​ment ˈset-ᵊl-mənt 

1

: the act of settling : the condition of being settled

2

: final payment (as of a bill)

3

a

: a place or region newly settled

b

: a small village

4

: settlement house

Legal Definition

settlement

noun

set·​tle·​ment

1

: the act or process of settling

2

a

: 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