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Synonyms

personal effects

American

plural noun

privately owned articles consisting chiefly of clothing, toilet items, etc., for intimate use by an individual.

Etymology

Origin of personal effects

First recorded in 1835–45

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.

Across the country, government agents have been losing government documents, personal effects, medical devices, and other belongings after confiscating them, effectively turning released immigrants into legal non-persons.

From Salon • Mar. 4, 2026

After receiving the report from the mountaineers, officers reached the site by helicopter to collect the remains and personal effects from the Ober Gabelhorn glacier.

From Barron's • Nov. 12, 2025

Under that water, buildings, statuary, coins and royal personal effects came to rest, and waited to be found.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 14, 2025

It said the documents, which arrived in Argentina on board the Nan-a-Maru steamship from Tokyo in June 1941, had been declared as "personal effects" by the German embassy in Buenos Aires at the time.

From BBC • May 12, 2025

Half will be buried with my body, the other half turned in to Command with my papers and personal effects.

From "Salt to the Sea" by Ruta Sepetys

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023