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bona vacantia

American  
[boh-nah vah-kahn-tee-ah, boh-nuh vuh-kan-tee-uh] / ˈboʊ nɑ vɑˈkɑn ti ɑ, ˈboʊ nə vəˈkæn ti ə /

noun

Law.

  1. property without an apparent owner or claimant.

bona vacantia British  
/ ˈbəʊnə vəˈkæntɪə /

plural noun

  1. law unclaimed goods

"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

Etymology

Origin of bona vacantia

Borrowed into English from Latin around 1750–60

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.

Carroll said he had been too unwell to deal with company business at the time the funds became bona vacantia.

From BBC • Mar. 12, 2026

In the absence of any heir or next of kin the crown is entitled to the personality as bona vacantia, and to the reality by escheat.

From The Project Gutenberg Encyclopedia Volume 1 of 28 by Project Gutenberg

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.