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tax sale

American  

noun

  1. the sale of real property, as land, usually at auction by a public authority, in order to pay delinquent taxes assessed upon its owner.


Etymology

Origin of tax sale

An Americanism dating back to 1825–35

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.

His mother paid $10 — about $100 today — for the lot on Shore Drive at a tax sale in the early 1960s.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 6, 2023

The deadline for property owners to pay their delinquent taxes or be placed on the tax sale list passed last month.

From Washington Post • May 1, 2022

It had been put up for tax sale four times but had no takers.

From Salon • Feb. 6, 2022

The upcoming online delinquent tax sale lists 43% of properties as vacant.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 24, 2021

The barber had bought the house at a tax sale at a time of great financial distress, twenty years before, for five hundred dollars.

From The Colonel's Dream by Chesnutt, Charles W. (Charles Waddell)

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