From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsettlementset‧tle‧ment /ˈsetlmənt/ ●●○ W3 noun 1 official agreement [countable]ARGUE# an official agreement or decision that ends an argument, a court case, or a fight, or the action of making an agreement Union leaders and company bosses will meet tomorrow in an attempt to reach a settlement. His lawyers are understood to be negotiating a settlement. Hopes grew that a workable peace settlement might emerge.settlement of the search for a peaceful settlement of the Northern Ireland conflict She got her home as part of the divorce settlement. The company paid out over $10 million in an out-of-court settlement.2 payment [uncountable]BFLPAY FOR formal when you pay all the money that you owesettlement of the settlement of all his debtsin settlement (of something) Wyatt had received the property in settlement of a bet.3 group of houses [countable]STOWN a group of houses and buildings where people live, especially in a place where few people have lived before The railway stations created new settlements. an early Iron Age settlement4 new area/places [uncountable]SA when a lot of people move to a place in order to live there, especially in a place where not many people have lived beforesettlement of the settlement of the American West5 sinking [uncountable] technicalHEGDOWN the process in which a building or the ground slowly sinks downwards SYN subsidenceCOLLOCATIONSverbsreach a settlementThe companies reached a settlement in March.achieve a settlement (=after a lot of discussions)The government was determined to achieve a settlement in Northern Ireland.negotiate a settlement (=have discussions to try to reach a settlement)His lawyers are understood to be negotiating a settlement.ADJECTIVES/NOUN + settlementan amicable settlement (=when people agree in a friendly way)Disputes were often taken to a village council, which attempted to bring about an amicable settlement.a peaceful settlement (=without fighting)Both sides are working towards a peaceful settlement. a political settlement (=one that is reached by political discussion, not fighting)The British government favours a political settlement in the Middle East.a peace settlement (=one which ends a war)Hopes of a peace settlement receded.a divorce settlement (=an agreement about money and property at the end of a marriage)She acquired full ownership of the building in her 1986 divorce settlement.an out-of-court settlement (=an agreement made to avoid a court case)The army denied liability but agreed on an out-of-court settlement.phrasesthe terms of a settlementUnder the terms of the settlement, the company will pay an undisclosed sum as compensation.
Examples from the Corpus
settlement• Lybrand and soon after extracted a $ 25,000 settlement from Leckie.• Settlements started to appear all along the river.• What leader can bind a people to a settlement wholly repugnant to them?• The tools were found in an early Iron Age settlement.• The advantages of trying to obtain an out-of-court settlement at a relatively early stage in the proceedings are therefore obvious.• Still more to the point, were they welcomed by the Melians when they took over the existing settlement at Phylakopi?• Four out of every five settlements achieved by conciliation officers are for compensation and only one in ten for reinstatement or re-employment.• In 1909, the U. S. Government assumed control of the leper settlement at Molokai.• a Mormon settlement• Are there any examples which clearly show these hamlets to be an early form of settlement?• There were only a few scattered settlements of squatters by the river.• She lived in a small settlement on the edge of the desert.reach a settlement• He said the company could have prevented such a radical restructuring if it had worked harder at reaching a settlement.• His agent, Scott Casterline, reached a settlement with the team that will save Brown one paycheck during his suspension.• Disney said yesterday it had reached a settlement with one group of contractors for an undisclosed sum.• Mr Widmer said there seemed little hope of reaching a settlement before Caldaire turned to legal action.• Mills and Raines reached a settlement in March, with Mills receiving half of the winnings.• Nithard presented Charles as doing everything possible to avoid battle and to reach a settlement with Lothar.• This deal was subsequently accepted in the other regions, which had hitherto failed to reach settlements.in settlement (of something)• He had already acquired some ex-episcopal lands back in 1647-8, in settlement of earlier debts owing to him on the public faith.• Money has to be something that is widely accepted in settlement of debts.• Used properly, it can be of significant assistance in settlement of a claim.• In other words, there is a choice in settlement sites which depends on value-judgements and what people want to do.• Thus, streams, rivers, and particularly springs and wells have been important considerations in settlement siting.• A high proportion of trials which begin will end in settlement rather than judgment.• However, many more variables are involved in settlement siting and patterns.• All have similarities in settlement pattern and in social organization, with unilineal descent systems and chiefdom organization.From Longman Business Dictionarysettlementset‧tle‧ment /ˈsetlmənt/ noun1[countable, uncountable] an official agreement or decision that ends an argument between two people or organizationsAfter 15 years of litigation, appeals lawyers reached a settlement with the insurance company.The inflation rate fell, reflecting recent lowwage settlements.increases in public sector pay settlements2[countable, uncountable]FINANCE the payment of money that someone owesThe company made afull and final settlement of £30 million.Non-US residents are prepared to use the dollarin settlement of debts.3[uncountable]FINANCE the process of making payments relating to cheques, buying investments etcSYNCLEARINGThe Bank of England and the London Stock Exchange developed a computerised settlement system for transactions in gilt-edged securities. → cash settlement → rolling settlement 