expropriate
verb (used with object)
to take possession of, especially for public use by the right of eminent domain, thus divesting the title of the private owner.
expropriated
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past participleof expropriate.past participle
A verb form used in perfect and passive verb constructions and that can also function as a modifier.
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past tense formof expropriate.past tense
Used to describe completed actions or previous habitual actions.
expropriateverb (used with object)to take possession of, especially for public use by the right of eminent domain, thus divesting the title of the private owner.
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.
The following day, they made a stop at nearby Las Cristinas, a gold mine that had been expropriated by the government more than a decade earlier.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
Since then farms, factories, radio stations, livestock and thousands of family businesses have been expropriated.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
Potentially more problematic will be calls for compensation payments to U.S. companies and individuals — many in south Florida — whose property was expropriated after the revolution.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 16, 2026
The forced auction was a lengthy process that pitted Amber Energy against one other contender, Gold Reserves Ltd., a creditor of Venezuela that had its gold- and copper-mining assets expropriated.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 5, 2026
Tres Marias was one of the last haciendas in the South to be expropriated under the agrarian reform.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
