first settlements
nounUK /fɜːst ˈsɛtlmənts/
US /fɜːrst ˈsɛtlmənts/
The first settlements are the earliest places where people built homes and started to live together.
The first settlements grew up near rivers where there was water and good land for farming.
RELATED WORDS
OTHER MEANINGS
2. The earliest permanent communities established in a particular region.
Archaeologists studied the first settlements along the coast.
3. The initial groups of people who moved to and settled in a new land.
The first settlements in the valley were founded by farmers.
4. The earliest stages of building a community in a new place.
The museum shows how the first settlements were built.