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settle down

[/ˈsetəl daʊn/]
verb (phrasal verb)
acalmar-se; estabelecer-se; assentar-se
1. To become calm or composed; to stop being agitated or excited
The children need to settle down before the movie starts.
As crianças precisam se acalmar antes do filme começar.
2. To establish a permanent home or residence in a place
After years of traveling, they decided to settle down in Portugal.
Depois de anos viajando, eles decidiram se estabelecer em Portugal.
3. To enter into a stable, committed relationship or marriage
He finally settled down and got married at 35.
Ele finalmente se assentou e casou aos 35 anos.
4. To focus on something; to get comfortable with an activity
Once you settle down with a good book, the time flies by.
Uma vez que você se acomoda com um bom livro, o tempo voa.
NYC Slang
chill out (for calming down); put down roots (for establishing residence)
Synonyms
calm downrelaxcompose oneselfestablish oneselftake root
Antonyms
get agitatedbecome restlessmove aroundwander

Regional Variations

General Brazilian
acalmar-se; estabelecer-se
Most common usage across Brazil
Rio de Janeiro
se ajeitar; se assentar
More colloquial variations used in informal speech
São Paulo
acalmar-se; se estabilizar
Standard urban usage
Portugal
assentar-se; fixar-se; acalmar-se
Acalmar-se less common; prefer assentar-se or fixar-se for permanence

Related Idioms & Phrases

settle down to married life
settle down with someone
settle down in a place
settle down to work
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