claim-jumper

[kleym-juhm-per]

noun

1. a person who seizes another's claim of land, especially for mineral rights.

Other Word Forms

• claim-jumping noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of claim-jumper¹

First recorded in 1825–35

Example Sentences

A frontier farm woman saves the life of a claim-jumper and persuades him to help her escort three insane women to a safe haven in Iowa.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Like a claim-jumper in the 19th century, Grooveshark could perhaps have emerged from the era of digital lawlessness with enough leverage to force the music companies to the negotiating table, and borrowed enough expertise from the venture capitalists to become a functional business.

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You make about the poorest kind of claim-jumper I ever ran up against, and I've handled quite a few in my time.

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The man must have been a claim-jumper, and meant to steal those papers.

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He has always adopted the tactics of the claim-jumper.

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