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.

It is further insulting to gestational carriers, genetic donors, and intended parents to suggest that the mutual creation of a child is somehow akin to the bondage of chattel slavery.

From Slate • May 13, 2026

Juneteenth celebrates the end of white-on-Black chattel slavery and the defeat of the Confederacy.

From Salon • Dec. 13, 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

Before democracy, chattel slavery in America was born.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

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