to settle down
173
3.0
- phrasal verb
- /ˈsɛtəl daʊn/
:
establecerse
- I had just turned thirty, and it was time to start settling down, at least a little.
- settle down somewhere
- settle down with a family
Do you ever see yourself settling down in the future with one woman?
- Do you ever see yourself settling down in the future with one woman?
- And so they end up settling down in New York City.
- You asked me something, when did you settle down?
- I want to still settle down, but, you know, and still work.
- I think the moment I do that is the moment I settle down and have kids.
- Lord, even the tinkerers in Ireland are leaving the road and settling down.
- And a lot of people that's in relationships that's settled down on social media.
- And I'm thinking I need to settle down and like a man, boring man.
- So settling down, I think will probably happen.
Examples
-
Why don't you settle down and get married, Walter?
-
I think the moment I do that is the moment I settle down and have kids.
-
Said it was time she married, settled down.
-
It's time to find a girl, settle down, do that whole thing.
-
Do you ever see yourself settling down in the future with one woman?
-
I learned how she had married young, settling down with her husband in a crowded college dorm.
Fiction book (1994) -
The time has come for Mila and Zesay to settle down.
-
After graduating, she decided it was time to settle down and start a family.
-
He plans to settle down in the countryside and enjoy a quieter life.
-
Once they find a suitable house, they are ready to settle down and raise their children.
Synonyms
463
2.5
To live in a place, often for a long time
132
3.3
To start to feel comfortable and at home in a new place or job
41
3.3
Become comfortable in a new place, job, or routine
8
4.2
To start living in one place for a long time and make it your home
6
4.0
To settle in one place and start living there
1
7.7
To live in a place and make it your home
Become an adult and start a steady life with a job or family
How Settled
173
3.0
- Informal
8
4.2
21
5.1
- Informal
133
2.0
46
1.8
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 to mean starting a steady life comes from the picture of a traveler making a home: they put their things away, settle in and stay down in one place, so the phrase means 'begin a quiet, steady life'.