personal property

American  

noun

Law.

1. an estate or property consisting of movable articles both corporeal, as furniture or jewelry, or incorporeal, as stocks or bonds (distinguished from real property).

   Synonyms:

   effects, chattel

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personal property British  

noun

1. Also called: personalty.  law movable property, such as furniture or money Compare real property

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personal property Cultural  

1. Furniture, automobiles, boats, and other possessions that are not included in the category of real property.

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Etymology

Origin of personal property

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

personal property

The founder of Evergrande, the property giant at the centre of China's housing market slump, has been sentenced to life in prison and had all of his personal property confiscated.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

Proposition 42 would ban new taxes on personal property and some retroactive state taxes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

What’s more, you have roughly $1.5 million, including your house, which does not include the money you have in bank accounts, the value of your vehicles and/or other household or personal property.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026

"The United States is the only country in the world where fossils like this are considered personal property," Cassandra Hatton, head of science and natural history at Sotheby's, told AFP before the auction.

From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026

This inmate had transferred a couple of weeks before to R-gallery from the Box, but they had not yet returned his personal property.

From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover