distraint
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of distraint
1720–30; distrain + -t, modeled on constraint, restraint
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.
I have now been threatened with "enforcement by distraint" as I am currently unable to pay the outstanding bill, which means they will take my car and computers.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 28, 2012
In return for this the King passed the Statute of Merchants, which made provisions for the registration of merchants' debts, their recovery by distraint, and the debtor's imprisonment.
From The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 06 (From Barbarossa to Dante) by Charles F. (Charles Francis) Horne
The sovereign enjoys unrestricted immunity from political responsibility and from personal distraint.
From The Governments of Europe by Frederic Austin Ogg
It is not clear whether the arrears were remitted or extracted by distraint.
From Babylonian and Assyrian Laws, Contracts and Letters by C. H. W. (Claude Hermann Walter) Johns
The distraint of knighthood, as it was called, began at least as far back as Edward I, 1278.
From The Leading Facts of English History by D. H. (David Henry) Montgomery
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