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adverse possession

noun Law.

the open and exclusive occupation and use of someone else's real property without permission of the owner continuously for a period of years prescribed by law, thereafter giving title to the occupier-user.

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Nearby words

  1. adversary,
  2. adversaryism,
  3. adversative,
  4. adversative asyndeton,
  5. adverse,
  6. adverse pressure gradient,
  7. adverse reaction,
  8. adverse selection,
  9. adversely,
  10. adversity
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for adverse possession

adverse possession

noun

property law the occupation or possession of land by a person not legally entitled to it. If continued unopposed for a period specifed by law, such occupation extinguishes the title of the rightful owner
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