to settle down
56
2.5
- phrasal verb
- /ˈsɛtəl daʊn/
:
calmarse
- After the excitement of the party, it took a while for the children to settle down and go to sleep.
- things settle down
- now settle down
But once everything's settled down, I, I brought the terp over.
- But once everything's settled down, I, I brought the terp over.
- So, so it's, I mean it, it's settled down a lot.
- She said, but let's wait till things settle down.
- And my poor mother would just be trying to get us all to be quiet and just settle down and nothing ever worked.
- Are we settling down to something acceptable or are we blowing up to something impossible?
Examples
-
All right now, Everybody settle down.
-
Everyone seemed to agree that these were reasonable requests and settled down to a fairly civilized level.
Fiction book (1997) -
And my poor mother would just be trying to get us all to be quiet and just settle down and nothing ever worked.
-
You know, so you should allow things to settle down and cool down.
-
And now that things have settled down, there are no dropped frames.
-
"With the chores done, we returned to the living room and settled down to talk.
Fiction book (1992) -
So the grownups tried once more to ignore her, hoping that she would settle down.
Fiction book (1993) -
I fixed a ham-and-cheese sandwich and settled down to watch Dan Rather and an early movie.
Fiction book (1994) -
Now that Y2K worries are behind us, things will settle down as far as computers and information systems are concerned.
Academic text (2000) -
By the time Baby had settled down beside her, she was helpless with laughter.
Fiction book (1992)
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To feel less nervous and more calm
962
1.0
Make a person or animal less upset
594
1.4
To become less angry, excited, or upset
540
2.8
To become calm and still after movement or excitement
99
4.9
To relax and become calm after you feel upset
68
3.2
To make someone or something calm and less noisy
57
3.7
To make something less strong or strict
55
6.2
To calm down and stop being angry or excited
50
2.7
To become calmer, less angry, or less hot
42
2.0
Make people or things less noisy and less active
39
3.7
To relax after a busy or stressful time and slowly come to an end
35
3.4
Become relaxed and less tense after work or a stressful time
31
3.4
To relax and become less nervous or tense
19
2.5
Feel less angry or excited
14
4.1
To become calm after strong feelings or to tell someone else to calm down
11
4.2
Relax and become less tense after work or stress
10
6.3
Become more relaxed and easygoing
3
4.6
Make someone or something less noisy and calmer
2
8.6
Calm down and relax after feeling stressed or excited
Antonyms
How Calm
Surface Forms
Morphology
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 creates the image of someone finally sitting quietly after being excited: they settle and go down into a calm position, so the phrase means 'become quiet or calm'.