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settle

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

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Letters

6 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "settle", 6-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "settle" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "settle" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

settle is aEnglishverb. It means: To conclude or resolve (something): Pronounced /ˈsɛ.təl/. It ranks #3,847 in English word frequency. Often confused with style and stole.

Key facts for settle
PropertyValue
Headwordsettle
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈsɛ.təl/
Letters6
Frequency rank#3,847
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs13
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of settle in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for settle is 6 letters long, classified as averb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈsɛ.təl/. Corpus data places it at rank #3,847 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 34 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 7 documented wrong-spelling variants for settle, with forms such as "esttle", "setle", and "setlte". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 13 confusable-pair relationships, "style", "stole", "stale", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From a merger of two verbs: * Middle English setlen, from Old English setlan (“to settle, seat, put to rest”), from Old English setl (“seat”) (compare Dutch zetelen (“to be established, settle”)) and * Middle English sahtlen, seihtlen (“to reconcile, calm, … Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is settle, spelled S-E-T-T-L-E, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    To conclude or resolve (something):
  2. 2
    To conclude or resolve (something):
  3. 3
    To conclude or resolve (something):
  4. 4
    To conclude or resolve (something):
  5. 5
    To conclude or resolve (something):
  6. 6
    To conclude or resolve (something):
  7. 7
    To conclude or resolve (something):
  8. 8
    To place or arrange in(to) a desired (especially: calm) state, or make final disposition of (something).
  9. 9
    To place or arrange in(to) a desired (especially: calm) state, or make final disposition of (something).
  10. 10
    To place or arrange in(to) a desired (especially: calm) state, or make final disposition of (something).
  11. 11
    To place or arrange in(to) a desired (especially: calm) state, or make final disposition of (something).
  12. 12
    To place or arrange in(to) a desired (especially: calm) state, or make final disposition of (something).
  13. 13
    To place or arrange in(to) a desired (especially: calm) state, or make final disposition of (something).
  14. 14
    To become calm, quiet, or orderly; to stop being agitated.
  15. 15
    To become calm, quiet, or orderly; to stop being agitated.
  16. 16
    To establish or become established in a steady position:
  17. 17
    To establish or become established in a steady position:
  18. 18
    To establish or become established in a steady position:
  19. 19
    To establish or become established in a steady position:
  20. 20
    To establish or become established in a steady position:
  21. 21
    To establish or become established in a steady position:
  22. 22
    To establish or become established in a steady position:
  23. 23
    To establish or become established in a steady position:
  24. 24
    To fix one's residence in a place; to establish a dwelling place, home, or colony. (Compare settle down.)
  25. 25
    To fix one's residence in a place; to establish a dwelling place, home, or colony. (Compare settle down.)
  26. 26
    To move (people) to (a land or territory), so as to colonize it; to cause (people) to take residence in (a place).
  27. 27
    To sink, or cause (something, or impurities within it) to sink down, especially so as to become clear or compact.
  28. 28
    To sink, or cause (something, or impurities within it) to sink down, especially so as to become clear or compact.
  29. 29
    To sink, or cause (something, or impurities within it) to sink down, especially so as to become clear or compact.
  30. 30
    To sink, or cause (something, or impurities within it) to sink down, especially so as to become clear or compact.
  31. 31
    To sink, or cause (something, or impurities within it) to sink down, especially so as to become clear or compact.
  32. 32
    To sink, or cause (something, or impurities within it) to sink down, especially so as to become clear or compact.
  33. 33
    To sink, or cause (something, or impurities within it) to sink down, especially so as to become clear or compact.
  34. 34
    Of an animal: to make or become pregnant.

Etymology

From a merger of two verbs: * Middle English setlen, from Old English setlan (“to settle, seat, put to rest”), from Old English setl (“seat”) (compare Dutch zetelen (“to be established, settle”)) and * Middle English sahtlen, seihtlen (“to reconcile, calm, subside”), from Old English sahtlian, ġesehtlian (“to reconcile”), from Old English saht, seht (“settlement, agreement, reconciliation, peace”) (see saught, -le). German siedeln (“to settle”) is related to the former of the two verbs, but is not an immediate cognate of either of them.

Synonyms

adjustarrangecomposedecidedetermineestablishfixregulate

Antonyms

removedisturbagitatewander

This word in other languages

Spanish(Español)Portuguese(Português)French(Français)German(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: esttle,setle,setlte,settel,settlle,ssettle,stetle

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for settle

Misspelling Variants of "settle"

esttle6setle5setlte6settel6settlle7ssettle7stetle6
Misspelling Variants of "settle"

Frequency rank: #3,847 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "settle"?
"settle" is spelled S-E-T-T-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsɛ.təl/.
What does "settle" mean?
As a verb, "settle" means: To conclude or resolve (something):
What words are commonly confused with "settle"?
"settle" is commonly confused with "style", "stole", "stale". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "settle"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "settle" is /ˈsɛ.təl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "settle"?
From a merger of two verbs: * Middle English setlen, from Old English setlan (“to settle, seat, put to rest”), from Old English setl (“seat”) (compare Dutch zetelen (“to be established, settle”)) and * Middle English sahtlen, seihtlen (“to reconci... See the full etymology section above for more details.
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Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter S in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.