settle down

verb

"settle-down" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“settle down” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To make or become quiet and calm after a period of disturbance or restlessness.

Corpus desk

Index EN-settle-down · settle down · English

settle down · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "S" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for settle down
PropertyValue
Headwordsettle down
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “settle down” in English

settle downsits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

settle down is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for settle down in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct English form is settle down, spelled S-E-T-T-L-E- -D-O-W-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    To make or become quiet and calm after a period of disturbance or restlessness.
  2. 2
    To establish a settled lifestyle for oneself, especially by marrying.
  3. 3
    To grow comfortable and familiar with one's new accommodation or circumstances.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how settle down appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. It took John a while to settle down after the phone call.
  2. In terms of passenger route mileage, the UK railway of early 1970 had settled down to close to the present level, although there was still some pruning to do.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "settle down"?
"settle down" is spelled S-E-T-T-L-E- -D-O-W-N.
What does "settle down" mean?
As a verb, "settle down" means: To make or become quiet and calm after a period of disturbance or restlessness.
What language does "settle down" come from?
"settle down" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list