Synonyms

settle for

British

verb

(intr, preposition) to accept or agree to in spite of dispute or dissatisfaction

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

settle for Idioms

Accept or be satisfied with as a compromise, as in He really wanted a bigger raise but decided to settle for what they offered. [Mid-1900s]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

She always has a brilliant comeback line for every situation, refusing to ever settle for second billing.

From Salon

Over the course of 18 months, Mr. Landsbergis’s courage and steadfastness to settle for nothing short of full independence set in motion something neither President George H.W.

From The Wall Street Journal

But this is, after all, television, and “CIA” knows what some of us want, or will settle for, from our spies.

From Los Angeles Times

Britain had to settle for a third silver medal in the last four Olympic men's curling competitions after slipping up in the last two ends in Cortina d'Ampezzo.

From Barron's

In his third race, the 1,500 meters, the 21-year-old from Wisconsin didn’t get the timing quite right and had to settle for a disappointing silver in a race he was heavily favored to win.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023