land-grabber

[land-grab-er]

noun

1. a person who seizes land illegally or underhandedly.

Word History and Origins

Origin of land-grabber¹

An Americanism dating back to 1855–60

Example Sentences

One land-grabber, Alvim Souza Alves, was trying to sell a plot inside the Uru Eu Wau Wau indigenous reserve for about £16,400 in local currency.

Read more on BBC

An American ninja helps a couple fight a Manila land-grabber’s Japanese ninja.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

King Arthur loves Guinevere and tries to keep her from the clutches of Lancelot and a land-grabber.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

A vicious, land-grabber of a cancer, latterly imperceptible to his expert oncologists, and even scans, killed my husband, on 8 February 2015.

Read more on The Guardian

Begin is portrayed as brilliant but also obstinate, if not duplicitous — more land-grabber than peacemaker.

Read more on Washington Post