Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - settlement

~ n 1 »OFFICIAL AGREEMENT« an official agreement or decision that ends an argument between two sides  (reach/achieve a settlement)  (failure to reach a settlement in the trade war | negotiated/political/peaceful etc settlement (=made after discussions are held, political decisions taken etc) | divorce/peace/financial etc settlement (=the agreement about what the two sides will do after a divorce, after fighting stops etc))  (Martin lost the house in their divorce settlement.) out-of-court settlement (=money you pay or things you agree to do to prevent someone going to court) 2 »GROUP OF HOUSES« a group of houses and buildings where people live, in an area where no group lived before  (a Bronze Age settlement | Wrangell is Alaska's second oldest settlement.) 3 »NEW AREA/PLACES« the movement of a new population into a place to live there + of  (the settlement of the American West) 4 »PAYMENT« the payment of money that you owe someone  (in settlement)  (a $1000 check in settlement) 5 »GIFT« a formal gift of money or property  (on/upon)  (He made a handsome settlement on his daughter when she married.) 6 »SINKING« the slow sinking of a building, the ground under it etc; subsidence