adverse possession

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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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Words nearby adverse possession

adversaryism, adversative, adversative asyndeton, adverse, adversely, adverse possession, adverse pressure gradient, adverse selection, adversity, advert, advertence

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use adverse possession in a sentence

He found him in adverse possession of his property and with a gun raised ready to shoot.
Silver and Gold|Dane Coolidge
The civil statutes also give moral validity to the title of prescription, or adverse possession.
Distributive Justice|John A. (John Augustine) Ryan
It is not wonderful that property began in adverse possession.
Ancient Law|Sir Henry James Sumner Maine
The doctrine of "adverse possession" is founded on the anxiety of our law to secure quietude of title.
Ten Thousand a-Year (Vol. 2)|Samuel Warren

A far longer period than the present one was requisite to constitute "adverse possession" at the time mentioned in the text.
Ten Thousand a-Year (Vol. 2)|Samuel Warren

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