eminent domain

American  

noun

Law.

1. the power of the state to take private property for public use with payment of compensation to the owner.

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eminent domain British  

noun

1. law the right of a state to confiscate private property for public use, payment usually being made to the owners in compensation

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eminent domain Cultural  

1. The right of a government to take private property for a public purpose, usually with just compensation of the owner.

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Etymology

Origin of eminent domain

First recorded in 1730–40

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

eminent domain

The board ended up directing the mayor to try to negotiate for the fuel facility, but didn’t immediately allow her to use eminent domain.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026

The Fisher Island Community Association, which represents property owners, and Fisher Island Club, a country club, sued Miami-Dade in federal court in January, seeking to block the county from exercising eminent domain.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026

Landowners in communities adjacent to the park are still gearing up to face eminent domain challenges from the federal government.

From Salon ● May 25, 2026

Silverstein also represented Robert Blue, whose luggage store had become a target of eminent domain proceedings by the city’s redevelopment agency.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 2, 2025

Though yours the rents, his incomes wax By right of eminent domain; From factory tall to woodman's axe, All things on earth must pay their tax, To feed his hungry heart and brain.

From Poems of James Russell Lowell With biographical sketch by Nathan Haskell Dole by Lowell, James Russell