property

[prop-er-tee]

noun

plural

properties 

1. that which a person owns; the possession or possessions of a particular owner.

   They lost all their property in the fire.

2. goods, land, etc., considered as possessions.

   The corporation is a means for the common ownership of property.

3. a piece of land or real estate.

   property on Main Street.

   Synonyms: acreage

4. ownership; right of possession, enjoyment, or disposal of anything, especially of something tangible.

   to have property in land.

5. something at the disposal of a person, a group of persons, or the community or public.

   The secret of the invention became common property.

6. an essential or distinctive attribute or quality of a thing.

   the chemical and physical properties of an element.

   Synonyms: feature

7. Logic.

   1. any attribute or characteristic.

   2. (in Aristotelian logic) an attribute not essential to a species but always connected with it and with it alone.

8. Also called prop. a usually movable item, other than costumes or scenery, used on the set of a theater production, motion picture, etc.; any object handled or used by an actor in a performance.

9. a written work, play, movie, etc., bought or optioned for commercial production or distribution.

10. a person, especially one under contract in entertainment or sports, regarded as having commercial value.

    an actor who was a hot property at the time.

property

/ ˈprɒpətɪ /

noun

1. something of value, either tangible, such as land, or intangible, such as patents, copyrights, etc

2. law the right to possess, use, and dispose of anything

3. possessions collectively or the fact of owning possessions of value

4. 1. a piece of land or real estate, esp used for agricultural purposes

   2. ( as modifier )

      property rights

5. a ranch or station, esp a small one

6. a quality, attribute, or distinctive feature of anything, esp a characteristic attribute such as the density or strength of a material

7. obsolete,  logic another name for proprium

8. Usually shortened to: prop. any movable object used on the set of a stage play or film

Other Word Forms

• propertyless noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of property¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English proprete “possession, attribute, what is one's own,” from propre proper + -te -ty ²; propriety

Word History and Origins

Origin of property¹

C13: from Old French propriété, from Latin proprietās something personal, from proprius one's own

Synonym Study

Property, chattels, effects, estate, goods refer to what is owned. Property is the general word: She owns a great deal of property. He said that the umbrella was his property. Chattels is a term for pieces of personal property or movable possessions; it may be applied to livestock, automobiles, etc.: a mortgage on chattels. Effects is a term for any form of personal property, including even things of the least value: All his effects were insured against fire. Estate refers to property of any kind that has been, or is capable of being, handed down to descendants or otherwise disposed of in a will: He left most of his estate to his niece. It may consist of personal estate (money, valuables, securities, chattels, etc.), or real estate (land and buildings). Goods refers to household possessions or other movable property, especially that comprising the stock in trade of a business: The store arranged its goods on shelves. See quality.

Example Sentences

“The average American doesn’t have that type of capital on hand to really pay for any type of emergency, unfortunately,” said Sean Kevelighan, CEO of the Insurance Information Institute, a property and casualty industry group.

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However, a series of property management and compliance issues soon emerged, showing that tokenization can change the wrapper, but it can’t fix the off-chain realities of property management and landlord responsibilities.

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The project, which would be built near the neighborhood’s boundary with the Arts District, is being proposed by property owner Larry Rauch, president of Los Angeles Cold Storage.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

She was 52 when she and Paul were shot and killed in 2021 at the family’s hunting property in Colleton County.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“We sold the property for $650,000 over asking, attracting buyers from five states, the Neighbor Islands, and three European countries. It’s a clear reflection of the strong demand for unique Hawaii properties,” he explained.

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Related Words

• equity 
• estate 
• farm 
• goods 
• home 
• house 
• land 
• ownership 
• plot 
• tract 
• wealth 
• worth