distraint

[ dih-streynt ]

/ dɪˈstreɪnt /

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noun Law.

the act of distraining; a distress.

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Origin of distraint

1720–30; distrain + -t, modeled on constraint, restraint

Words nearby distraint

distractive, distractor, distrail, distrain, distrainee, distraint, distrait, distraite, distraught, distress, distress call

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use distraint in a sentence

If a man has not corn or money upon a man and levies a distraint, for every single distraint he shall pay one-third of a mina.
The Oldest Code of Laws in the World|Hammurabi, King of Babylon
If a man has taken an ox on distraint, he shall pay one-third of a mina of silver.
The Oldest Code of Laws in the World|Hammurabi, King of Babylon
At Michaelmas, 1817, the Duke of Somerset had made a distraint for rent.
The Canadian Portrait Gallery Volume 3|John Charles Dent
An unwarranted seizure for debt was fined, as was the distraint of a working ox.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 1|Various

The Bible forbids the distraint of a widow's goods; Simon restricted the reference to cases of poor widows.
History of the Jews, Vol. II (of 6)|Heinrich Graetz

British Dictionary definitions for distraint

distraint

/ (dɪˈstreɪnt) /

noun

law the act or process of distraining; distress

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012