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
- de-expropriation noun
- expropriable adjective
- expropriation noun
- expropriationist adjective
- expropriator noun
- unexpropriable adjective
- unexpropriated adjective
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
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 difficulties arise because the acquirer can’t simply expropriate an investor-owned utility’s assets.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 10, 2025
The president's spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, last month said the state "may not expropriate property arbitrarily or for a purpose other than... in the public interest".
From BBC • Feb. 3, 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
Lopez Obrador has clashed with Grupo Mexico this year, and in May moved to expropriate some tracks the company controls in southern Mexico for a flagship infrastructure project.
From Reuters • Sep. 20, 2023
The French Government is entitled to expropriate without compensation the personal property of private German citizens and German companies resident or situated within Alsace-Lorraine, the proceeds being credited in part satisfaction of various French claims.
From The Economic Consequences of the Peace by Keynes, John Maynard
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.
