settlement

Everyday

1. A place where people have come to live and built homes, such as a village or small town: an early farming settlement. tree →
2. An agreement that ends an argument or legal case: The two sides reached a settlement. tree →
3. Paying money that is owed: settlement of a bill. tree →
4. The act of settling in a new land. tree →
5. Slow sinking of a building or ground. tree →

In the lessons

In geography and history lessons: early settlements were built near rivers for water, food and transport; types are hamlet, village, town, city. In maths, settlement populations are compared and ordered. In news, a legal settlement ends a quarrel with a payment. Phrases: «a Viking settlement», «reach a settlement», «in settlement of».

Examples

• The first settlement was built beside the river. tree →
• A hamlet is the smallest kind of settlement. tree →
• The two companies reached a settlement. tree →
• The settlement had 120 people; the next one had 3 times as many. tree →
• Archaeologists found an old Viking settlement. tree →
• He paid $500 in settlement of the bill. tree →
• Early settlements needed water and shelter. tree →
• Hit got so dat fokes in de settlement didn't have no peace. tree →

Note

Countable: settlements. Verb: settle; person: settler. Order of settlement size: hamlet < village < town < city.