unearned increment

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noun

the increase in the value of property, especially land, due to natural causes, as growth of population, rather than to any labor or expenditure by the owner.

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Origin of unearned increment

First recorded in 1870–75

Words nearby unearned increment

unduly, undying, Une, unearned, unearned income, unearned increment, unearned run, unearth, unearthly, unease, uneasy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use unearned increment in a sentence

That is why John Stuart Mill, the classical economist, referred to such increases in land value as “unearned increments.”
There’s a Way for the City to Balance Density With Quality of Life|Nico Calavita and Brian J. Curry|December 15, 2020|Voice of San Diego
As a white, educated, Western, middle-class male, I possess most of the unearned privilege the world has to offer.
In 2015, Let’s Try for More Compassion|Gene Robinson|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
In other words, we may never know the exact increment of increased risk for pregnant women who contract the infection.
The Only Thing More Terrifying Than Ebola Is Being Pregnant With Ebola|Kent Sepkowitz, Abby Haglage|October 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There is some increment there that we make possible that would not otherwise be there.
Stephen King, “Falling,” and My Father’s Poetry|Christopher Dickey|September 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Here, however, the novel ends with unearned sentimentality and cheap contrivance.
Ian McEwan's New Novel Keeps Life at Arm's Length|Nick Romeo|September 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And often times this very hard work is done under the most difficult of circumstances—with unearned stress of the worst kind.
‘Gideon’s Army’: Gerald Shargel on the Defense That Never Rests|Gerald L. Shargel|July 1, 2013|DAILY BEAST
This increment is larger on the flooring girders than on the main ones, and on short main girders than on long ones.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3|Various
Alexander afterward declared that Napoleon gave a verbal promise that Russia should have a substantial increment on the Danube.
The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte|William Milligan Sloane
Again, earned incomes appear to represent lower ability to pay than unearned ones.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 4|Various
Death not unearned, nor yet a novelty in this house; Let him make talk in hell concerning Iphigenia.
Instigations|Ezra Pound
The inheritance of unearned wealth quite frequently proves a curse rather than a blessing.
A Broader Mission for Liberal Education|John Henry Worst

British Dictionary definitions for unearned increment

unearned increment

noun

a rise in the market value of landed property resulting from general economic factors

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012