conveyance

American  

[kuhn-vey-uhns] / kənˈveɪ əns /

noun

1. the act of conveying; transmission; communication.

2. a means of transporting, especially a vehicle, as a bus, airplane, or automobile.

3. Law.

   1. the transfer of property from one person to another.

   2. the instrument or document by which this is effected.

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conveyance British  

/ kənˈveɪəns /

noun

1. the act of conveying

2. a means of transport

3. law

   1. a transfer of the legal title to property

   2. the document effecting such a transfer

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Other Word Forms

• conveyancer noun
• nonconveyance noun
• preconveyance noun

Etymology

Origin of conveyance

First recorded in 1495–1505; convey + -ance

Explanation

Conveyance is a formal word that can mean either the transportation of something from one place to another, or the vehicle that does the transporting. Conveyance is a rather archaic — or old-fashioned — way to describe a mode of transportation. It's easy to imagine someone in the 1800s asking for a horse and carriage as their conveyance to a friend's house. Today, we'd skip the formalities and simply jump in the car and drive there ourselves. In its less common usage, a conveyance is a legal document that transfers ownership of a property from one person to another.

Example Sentences

The special meeting where the board voted unanimously to approve the conveyance was advertised as a special board meeting where “the District Board of Trustees will discuss potential real estate transactions.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 15, 2025

Standing at 6ft 1in tall, Patrick's height and weight of about 11st 7lb limit the rides he can take, but the rocket that is Nick Rockett proved the ideal conveyance.

From BBC • Apr. 5, 2025

This is thanks to the Fifth Amendment, which protects the conveyance of that as speech—but does not, importantly, extend to biometric security.

From Slate • Sep. 12, 2024

Participants would be exempt from capital gains, conveyance and general excise taxes under this two-year program.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 22, 2024

Those who had stored their supplies carted their haul into private residences in any conveyance they could.

From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler