distraint

American

[dih-streynt] / dɪˈstreɪnt /

noun

Law.

the act of distraining; a distress.

distraint British

/ 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

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

He is now threatened with distraint for poor rates, church rates, and land-tax.

From Project Gutenberg

Father once apologised to me—that was when there was a distraint out against him, if you know what that is—because he wasn't rich.

From Project Gutenberg

The refusal to pay tithes and other ecclesiastical demands led to continuous and heavy distraints, under the various laws made in that behalf.

From Project Gutenberg

The householders who refused to pay were summoned before the local bench; and it was Harriet Martineau whom the justices selected to be distrained upon; but events marched rapidly, and the distraint was not made.

From Project Gutenberg

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