settle

verb settles · settling · settled · sattle

1. transitive 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

   Similar: seal

2. transitive To conclude, to cause (a dispute) to finish. to settle a quarrel

   Similar: dispose, dispose of

3. transitive In particular, to terminate (a lawsuit), usually out of court, by agreement of all parties.

   Similar: dispose, dispose of

4. transitive 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.

   Similar: discharge

5. colloquial, transitive To pay (a bill or debt).
6. intransitive To adjust differences or accounts; to come to an agreement on matters in dispute. He has settled with his creditors.
7. intransitive 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. transitive To place or arrange in(to) a desired (especially: calm) state, or make final disposition of (something). to settle my affairs
9. transitive To put into (proper) place; to make sit or lie properly. The curate settled his collar, coughed, and, making an effort, knocked.
10. transitive 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; [...]
11. UK, dialectal, transitive To silence, especially by force.
12. transitive 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. transitive To bring or restore (ground, roads, etc) to a smooth, dry, or passable condition. clear weather settles the roads
14. intransitive To become calm, quiet, or orderly; to stop being agitated. The weather settled.
15. intransitive 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. transitive 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. transitive 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.
18. US, obsolete, transitive 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. transitive To formally, legally secure (an annuity, property, title, etc) on (a person).
20. intransitive, obsolete To make a jointure for a spouse. He sighs with most success that settles well.
21. intransitive To become married, or a householder. As People marry now, and ſettle; / Fierce Love abates his uſual Mettle: [...]
22. intransitive, with "in" To be established in a profession or in employment. He is settled in the profession of law at Rochester, New York.
23. intransitive, usually, with "down" 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.
24. intransitive 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
25. intransitive, transitive, in particular To colonize (an area); to migrate to (a land, territory, site, etc). the French first settled Canada
26. transitive 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. transitive To clear or purify (a liquid) of dregs and impurities by causing them to sink. to settle coffee, or the grounds of coffee
28. transitive To cause to sink down or to be deposited (dregs, sediment, etc). to settle the sediment out of the water
29. transitive To render compact or solid; to cause to become packed down. to settle the chips in the potato chip bag by shaking it
30. intransitive To sink to the bottom of a body of liquid, as dregs of a liquid, or the sediment of a reservoir.
31. intransitive 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. intransitive To become compact due to sinking. The chips in the bag of potato chips settled during shipping.
33. intransitive To become clear due to the sinking of sediment. (Used especially of liquid. Also used figuratively.) wine settles by standing
34. ambitransitive 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

Similar: adjust, arrange, compose, decide, determine, establish, fix, regulate · Opposite: remove, disturb, agitate, wander

noun settles

1. archaic A seat of any kind. sit on a settle of joy with angels
2. archaic A 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.
3. obsolete A 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.

proper noun Settles

1. countable, uncountable A town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, previously in Craven district (OS grid ref SD816640).
2. countable, uncountable An unincorporated community in Allen County, Kentucky, United States.
3. countable, uncountable A habitational surname from Old English.