settle down — start a stable life
phrasal verbB2IELTS 6+neutralcommon
To begin living a quieter, more regular life, often by getting married, starting a family, or staying in one place.
Say it like a native
Textbook I intend to establish a stable and permanent lifestyle.
Native I'd like to settle down at some point.
'Settle down' carries the whole idea of putting down roots; the formal paraphrase sounds like a mission statement.
Pattern: settle down (with someone/in a place)
In use
- After traveling for years, she decided it was time to settle down and buy a house.family
- Many people choose to settle down in their late twenties, especially when they want to focus on their careers or start a family.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ They want to settle down a family.
✓ They want to settle down and start a family.
'Settle down' is intransitive here — you don't 'settle down' something.
Common collocations
settle down + life stage— and start a family, in one place, with someone, eventually
Don't confuse it
This meaning is about life choices, not about calming down in a moment.
Related
- settle down (become calm) — Another meaning of 'settle down' is 'become calm'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.