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settlement

settlement

234 3.2
A place where people start living together in a new area
  • noun
  • /ˈsɛtəlmənt/
translation icon : asentamiento
  • In fact, the team's findings support the theory that the Great Dismal Swamp was home to the largest Maroon settlement in all of North America.
  • human settlement
  • urban settlement
  • rural settlements

We have many settlements in the West Bank.

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Examples

  • We have many settlements in the West Bank.

  • Many families moved to the mountainous region to create a sustainable settlement.

  • In those days, we had a large, international settlement.

  • The Jewish settlement in Palestine has been hard at work.

  • There were many obstacles to successful and permanent Spanish settlement in the region.

    Academic text (2012)
  • We come to the Moore River Native Settlement.

  • In Mexico City and its surrounding areas, illegal settlements are a critical problem.

    Academic text (2008)
  • The warriors who defended the border probably lived in these settlements with their families.

    Academic text (2011)
  • This is a Shaker settlement in Hancock, MA.

  • According to historical records, the colonial settlement was abandoned sometime between 1763 and 1780.

    Academic text (2011)

Synonyms

village
vssettlement
1.0

A small group of houses in the countryside where people live and form a community

is any founded community often new or in a foreign region rather than rural
small town
vssettlement
245 1.5

A community with few people and few shops

is any founded community often new or in a foreign region regardless of size
colony
vssettlement
90 3.3

A group of people from one country who live together in another country and keep ties home

is a general new community without necessary national ties or government link

Compounds

An agreement that ends a legal dispute before it goes to court

2 6.1

A legal agreement that divides a couple's money and things after divorce or separation

A community center in a poor city area offering classes and help to residents

A small community at the edge of known land where pioneers live

1 6.4

A formal agreement before marriage about money and property rights

viatical settlement
  • Specialized
9.9

An agreement where a very ill person sells a life insurance policy for money now

viaticus settlement
  • Specialized
9.9

Selling a life insurance policy to get money when very sick and likely to die soon

How Big

metropolis
175 5.2
city
1.0
settlement
234 3.2
town
1.0
village
1.0
hamlet
24 5.0

Surface Forms

settlement singular
settlements plural

Morphology

settlement = settle (transparent) = settle + ment

Standard noun formation from the verb 'settle' meaning 'to establish residence', so learners can derive 'settlement' as a place where people settle.

Etymology

Settlement comes from the simple word set, which means 'to put or place'. Think of people 'setting' houses and farms on land to form a community, so a settlement is a place where people live together.