eminent domain

See synonyms for eminent domain on Thesaurus.com
nounLaw.
  1. the power of the state to take private property for public use with payment of compensation to the owner.

Origin of eminent domain

1
First recorded in 1730–40

Words Nearby eminent domain

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

How to use eminent domain in a sentence

  • The oceans are now the Kings highway and he owns them by right of eminent domain.

    The Fall of a Nation | Thomas Dixon
  • The obligation of contracts has been declared sacred; the right of eminent domain restricted by the provision for compensation.

  • As to eminent domain, they possess an undefined right to determine the time and manner of ascertaining the compensation.

  • The right of eminent domain nowhere justifies the taking of property for private use.

  • As we understand the principles of our government, the states possess the right of eminent domain.

British Dictionary definitions for eminent domain

eminent domain

noun
  1. law the right of a state to confiscate private property for public use, payment usually being made to the owners in compensation

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

Cultural definitions for eminent domain

eminent domain

The right of a government to take private property for a public purpose, usually with just compensation of the owner.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.