Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
😌 To become calm 🏡 To start a stable life 🌫️ To rest on surface
to settle down

to settle down

5 3.1
To come to rest on a surface, like dust or snow
  • phrasal verb
  • /ˈsɛtəl daʊn/
  • Specialized
: asentarse
  • The dust from the explosion slowly started to settle down, allowing us to see again.

All right, like every vacuiformer, as it heats up, the plastic bows up for a second before settling down and starting to droop.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • After the storm, the water began to settle down, leaving a calm surface.

  • And the spacecraft, gently we hoped, settles down on the Martian surface.

  • Let things settle down a bit, so if you could just point me to a guest room.

    Scarewaves (2014)

  • So they found a place under a large mountain and settled down for the rest of the night.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • The heat and dust settled down late in the day, and the streets were crowded.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • The hot weather settled down, and he realized he should have planted months ago.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • I'm sorry this is all hitting you at the same time... but after it passes and things settle down, you can think about starting over.

    Flirting with Disaster (1996)

  • The horses were moving at a fast trot and seemed to be settling down a bit.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • And so, in the dark, I hold hands with Gerry as he settles down between my mother and me.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • Finally, he found a Stooge-a-thon on Channel 78 and settled down to enjoy himself.

    Fiction book (2001)

Synonyms

to settle
vsto settle down
  • Specialized
13 4.4

To sink and form a layer at the bottom of a liquid

rest on any surface or the ground rather than only at a liquid bottom

Antonyms

to stir
68 1.0

To move slightly after being still

to disturb
38 2.1

Move something and make it untidy or broken

How Settled

to accumulate
168 3.4
deposit
  • Specialized
68 3.5
to settle down
  • Specialized
5 3.1
to sink
104 1.0
to drift
265 2.9
to float
559 1.0

Surface Forms

settle down infinitive
settled down past
settled down past participle
settling down present participle
settles down third person singular

Morphology

settle + down

The verb 'settle' (become calm/come to rest) together with 'down' suggests becoming grounded or established, so a B1 learner who knows the parts can infer a general sense of stabilizing or calming. However the specific life-stage meaning (marrying, getting a steady job, establishing a home) is a metaphorical extension of that notion and not fully predictable without prior exposure, so it is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Settle down comes from watching dust or snow slowly fall and rest: the tiny bits settle and drop down onto a surface, so the phrase means 'come to rest on a surface'.