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

One of the Brin-backed measures would bar new taxes on personal property, including retirement accounts, intellectual property and financial assets, excluding real estate.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026

Throughout most of U.S. history, presidential records have been treated as the president’s personal property.

From Salon ● Apr. 17, 2026

A federal judge has found that the city of Los Angeles violated the constitutional rights of homeless people by seizing and destroying their personal property during cleanups.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 12, 2026

Whether or not this is personal property, it still technically falls under probate given that it’s solely in the decedent’s name without a transfer-on-death deed.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 6, 2026

At this time molecular work on DNA in England was, for all practical purposes, the personal property of Maurice Wilkins, a bachelor who worked in London at King’s College.*

From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson