Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
garageman's lien

garageman's lien

9.9
A right that lets a garage keep a car until the owner pays for repairs or storage
  • noun
  • /ˈɡɛrədʒˌmænz liːn/
  • Formal
translation icon : derecho de retención del garajista
  • Under the garageman's lien, the garage kept the car until all storage fees were settled.

Examples

  • The repair shop exercised its garageman's lien when the customer failed to pay the bill.

  • The mechanic placed a garageman's lien on the car.

  • If you do not settle your account, a garageman's lien may be placed on your vehicle.

  • After the repairs, the garageman's lien was released.

  • If you do not settle your account, a garageman's lien may be placed on your vehicle.

  • The repair shop exercised its garageman's lien when the customer failed to pay the bill.

  • Under the garageman's lien, the garage kept the car until all storage fees were settled.

Synonyms

lien
vsgarageman's lien
  • Specialized
30 9.4

A legal right to keep someone's property until they pay a debt

is limited to vehicles kept by a repair business for unpaid repairs or storage

Surface Forms

garageman's lien singular
garagemen's liens plural

Morphology

garageman's + lien

The phrase is a straightforward possessive composition: 'garageman's' (garage owner/mechanic) + 'lien' (a legal right to retain property), so the meaning — a lien held by the garage owner to keep a vehicle until payment — follows directly from the constituents. Although the term is legal/technical, its structure and semantics are compositional and would be inferable to a learner who knows the constituent words.

Etymology

Garageman's lien comes from a simple picture: a garage owner (garageman) holds a car until the customer pays. A 'lien' is a right to 'keep' the car for unpaid repairs or storage, so the phrase means the garage can keep the car 'until payment is made'.