community property

American

noun

U.S. Law.

(in some states) property acquired by either spouse, or both together, that is considered by law to be jointly owned and equally shared.

Etymology

Origin of community property

First recorded in 1920–25

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.

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community property

Whether real estate is community property depends on when and how it was acquired — during the marriage or before marriage, paid for with separate or marital funds, etc.

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 6, 2025

There are nine community property states in the U.S.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2025

All these awards are community property no matter how people talk about it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2025

If you live in a community property state, for example, creditors could come after jointly owned assets if your spouse fails to pay what they owe.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 3, 2025

“She’ll claim it’s community property, divvy it out to her minions, and there goes our emergency supply.”

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

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