expropriate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to take possession of, especially for public use by the right of eminent domain, thus divesting the title of the private owner.
The government expropriated the land for a recreation area.
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to dispossess (a person) of ownership.
The revolutionary government expropriated the landowners from their estates.
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to take (something) from another's possession for one's own use.
He expropriated my ideas for his own article.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of expropriate
1605–15; from Medieval Latin expropriātus “separated from one's own” (past participle of expropriāre ), equivalent to ex- ex- 1 + propri(āre) “to appropriate” (derivative of proprius proper ) + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
Use the verb expropriate to describe the act of taking people's property, usually by a government. If you really like your neighbor's house, you may wish you could expropriate the property. To correctly pronounce expropriate, say "ex-PRO-pree-ate." It sounds a lot like another verb, appropriate and has a similar meaning. That's because of their shared Latin root proprius, which means "own." Expropriate is typically used to describe taking property — rather than smaller possessions — and a government or other official organization is usually the one doing the taking. For example, a state may expropriate property in order to build a new road.
Vocabulary lists containing expropriate
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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.
For lawyer and activist Arif Ali Cangi, the legislation approved in July, which allows companies to expropriate or rezone agricultural land for mining, will only aggravate the situation.
From Barron's • May 15, 2026
The difficulties arise because the acquirer can’t simply expropriate an investor-owned utility’s assets.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 10, 2025
Over the last three decades, the government has used existing powers to expropriate property–- with less than market-value compensation – in fewer than 20 cases, she said.
From BBC • Jun. 1, 2025
The question was resolved in 2017 when Austria’s highest court ruled that the government was within its rights to expropriate the building after its owner refused to sell it.
From Washington Times • Oct. 2, 2023
Barr�s would not come to expropriate his cauliflowers and early potatoes.
From A Tatter of Scarlet Adventurous Episodes of the Commune in the Midi 1871 by Crockett, S. R. (Samuel Rutherford)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
