chattel
Americannoun
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Law. Often chattels a movable article of personal property.
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Often chattels any article of tangible property other than land, buildings, and other things annexed to land.
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a human being considered to be property; an enslaved person.
noun
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(often plural) property law
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an item of movable personal property, such as furniture, domestic animals, etc
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an interest in land less than a freehold, such as a lease
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personal property
Synonym Usage
See property.
Etymology
Origin of chattel
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English chatel, from Old French; see cattle
Explanation
All that stuff in your room? The books, posters, dirty sneakers and all of your other personal belongings? That's what we call chattel. Chattel refers to personal items, as opposed to actual land property. It was once used to describe slaves and cattle, which is why referring to something or someone as chattel isn't very nice — you're essentially saying they're just property, somehow less than human. Despite the fact that chattel is an outdated word these days, it's probably still safe to call your bottle cap collection worthless chattel.
Vocabulary lists containing chattel
To Kill a Mockingbird
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Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
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"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 19–24
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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.
This year marks the sixth anniversary of the U.S. honoring Juneteenth as a federal holiday, and 161 years since the day chattel slavery was considered to have ended in this country.
From Salon ● Jun. 19, 2026
"The forensic accountants had done their work and came out with this deep connection to African chattel enslavement. Once something is brought to the light, you can't push it back into the darkness."
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
It is further insulting to gestational carriers, genetic donors, and intended parents to suggest that the mutual creation of a child is somehow akin to the bondage of chattel slavery.
From Slate ● May 13, 2026
It has been 159 years since the 13th Amendment was ratified, ending chattel slavery.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 15, 2024
There were many freemen in South Carolina who’d relocated for the so-called opportunities, but they’d served their time as chattel.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
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.
