Settle /(?)/

Set·tle

Settle

n.
  1. A seat of any kind. [Obs.]
  2. A bench; especially, a bench with a high back.
  3. A place made lower than the rest; a wide step or platform lower than some other part.
    And from the bottom upon the ground, even to the lower settle, shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit.
    — Ezek. xliii. 14.

Phrases & Compounds

Settle bed
a bed convertible into a seat.

Settle

v. t.

imp. & p. p. Settled; p. pr. & vb. n. Settling

  1. To place in a fixed or permanent condition; to make firm, steady, or stable; to establish; to fix; esp., to establish in life; to fix in business, in a home, or the like.
    And he settled his countenance steadfastly upon him, until he was ashamed.
    — 2 Kings viii. 11. (Rev. Ver.)
    The father thought the time drew on Of setting in the world his only son.
  2. To establish in the pastoral office; to ordain or install as pastor or rector of a church, society, or parish; as, to settle a minister. [U. S.]
  3. To cause to be no longer in a disturbed condition; to render quiet; to still; to calm; to compose.
    God settled then the huge whale-bearing lake.
    Hoping that sleep might settle his brains.
  4. To clear of dregs and impurities by causing them to sink; to render pure or clear; -- said of a liquid; as, to settle coffee, or the grounds of coffee.
  5. To restore or bring to a smooth, dry, or passable condition; -- said of the ground, of roads, and the like; as, clear weather settles the roads.
  6. To cause to sink; to lower; to depress; hence, also, to render close or compact; as, to settle the contents of a barrel or bag by shaking it.
  7. To determine, as something which is exposed to doubt or question; to free from unscertainty or wavering; to make sure, firm, or constant; to establish; to compose; to quiet; as, to settle the mind when agitated; to settle questions of law; to settle the succession to a throne; to settle an allowance.
    It will settle the wavering, and confirm the doubtful.
  8. To adjust, as something in discussion; to make up; to compose; to pacify; as, to settle a quarrel.
  9. To adjust, as accounts; to liquidate; to balance; as, to settle an account.
  10. Hence, to pay; as, to settle a bill. [Colloq.]
  11. To plant with inhabitants; to colonize; to people; as, the French first settled Canada; the Puritans settled New England; Plymouth was settled in 1620.

Phrases & Compounds

To settle on
to confer upon by permanent grant; to assure to.
To settle the land
to cause it to sink, or appear lower, by receding from it.

Settle

v. i.
  1. To become fixed or permanent; to become stationary; to establish one's self or itself; to assume a lasting form, condition, direction, or the like, in place of a temporary or changing state.
    The wind came about and settled in the west.
    Chyle . . . runs through all the intermediate colors until it settles in an intense red.
  2. To fix one's residence; to establish a dwelling place or home; as, the Saxons who settled in Britain.
  3. To enter into the married state, or the state of a householder.
    As people marry now and settle.
  4. To be established in an employment or profession; as, to settle in the practice of law.
  5. To become firm, dry, and hard, as the ground after the effects of rain or frost have disappeared; as, the roads settled late in the spring.
  6. To become clear after being turbid or obscure; to clarify by depositing matter held in suspension; as, the weather settled; wine settles by standing.
    A government, on such occasions, is always thick before it settles.
  7. To sink to the bottom; to fall to the bottom, as dregs of a liquid, or the sediment of a reserveir.
  8. To sink gradually to a lower level; to subside, as the foundation of a house, etc.
  9. To become calm; to cease from agitation.
    Till the fury of his highness settle, Come not before him.
  10. To adjust differences or accounts; to come to an agreement; as, he has settled with his creditors.
  11. To make a jointure for a wife.
    He sighs with most success that settles well.