unclaimed
Britishadjective
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.
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.
It didn’t, however, require any party to renounce its previous claims, nor did it permanently bar future claims on previously unclaimed territory.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026
All proceeds from the auction of unclaimed items support bus and rail operations.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 10, 2026
By Your Side follows Linda Standish, a council worker in the unclaimed heirs unit who investigates the lives of people who have died alone and attempts to track down any surviving relatives.
From BBC • Mar. 6, 2026
Towing and impounding companies may auction unclaimed vehicles within a certain amount of time.
From Salon • Mar. 4, 2026
That’s how I scored several unclaimed gel pens and a necklace that I gave Abuela for her birthday too.
From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
