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Synonyms

unclaimed

British  
/ ʌnˈkleɪmd /

adjective

  1. not having been claimed

    £7 million in unclaimed prizes

"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

Explanation

Unclaimed things haven't been collected or demanded, like an unclaimed sweatshirt in the lost-and-found bin at school. When you claim something, you make a formal request for it or assert that you have a right to it, the way you claim your seat at the theater or claim your bag from the baggage carousel at the airport. Bags that left at the airport or seats left empty? Those are unclaimed.

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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.

See Examples For:

The state has some $15 billion in unclaimed property, including securities, such as stock holdings, mutual funds, and retirement accounts.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 24, 2026

They were set up for every child born in the UK between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011 with government money, but more than three quarters of a million accessible accounts are unclaimed.

From BBC Aug. 6, 2026

The reader who suggested leaving Social Security benefits unclaimed, if you don’t need them, does raise an interesting question about personal responsibility.

From MarketWatch Aug. 3, 2026

The strike, unclaimed by any country or group, serves as a warning that the Suez Canal might not be a safe alternative for oil exports.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 30, 2026

I wondered who she was, poor unclaimed soul, washed up by the wind and tide.

From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier

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