1. A place where a group of people establish a new community
   "the American settlement in Paris";
   - colony
    
2. A conclusive resolution of a matter and disposition of it
   "The lawyers reached a settlement in the dispute"; "The company offered a generous settlement to avoid a lawsuit"
    
3. The act of solving or concluding a problem, dispute, or difficult situation
   "The settlement ended years of litigation";
   - resolution, closure
    
4. Termination of a business operation by using its assets to discharge its liabilities
   "The settlement of the bankrupt firm's affairs took several months";
   - liquidation
    
5. A community of people smaller than a town
   "They grew up in a settlement where everyone knew each other";
   - village
    
6. An area where a group of families live together
   "The pioneers established a small settlement near the river"
    
7. The act of colonizing; the establishment of colonies
   "the British settlement of America";
   - colonization, colonisation [Brit]
    
8. (finance) the completion of a transaction, e.g. delivery of goods by the seller and payment for them by the buyer
   "The stock trade settlement occurred three business days after the transaction"

Derived forms: settlements

Type of: agreement, body, community, conclusion, constitution, deciding, decision making, ending, establishment, formation, geographic area, geographic region, geographical area, geographical region, organisation [Brit], organization, termination, understanding

Encyclopedia: Settlement, The