chattel slavery

American

[chat-l sley-vuh-ree, sleyv-ree] / ˈtʃæt l ˈsleɪ və ri, ˈsleɪv ri /

noun

the enslaving and owning of human beings and their offspring as property, able to be bought, sold, and forced to work without wages, as distinguished from other systems of forced, unpaid, or low-wage labor also considered to be slavery.

Etymology

Origin of chattel slavery

First recorded in 1900–05

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.

But again, these chapters codify the Black American experience as one defined by pain and primarily linked to chattel slavery.

From Salon • Aug. 11, 2025

Within months of her 1836 arrival in New York, Ernestine Rose, a Polish-born rabbi’s daughter, began traveling around the United States condemning women’s subjugation, economic inequality, organized religion, and chattel slavery.

From Slate • Apr. 10, 2025

It has been 159 years since the 13th Amendment was ratified, ending chattel slavery.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 15, 2024

Jim Downs: How did formerly enslaved people survive hours after they fled from chattel slavery?

From Scientific American • Nov. 2, 2023

Even after his release from chattel slavery, the nation grew over him, submerging him.

From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023