personal property
16
3.1
- noun
- /ˈpɜrsənl ˈprɒpərti/
- Specialized
:
bienes muebles
- Please make sure to take all your personal property before leaving the event.
- tangible personal property
- real or personal property
- personal property as security
Examples
-
In one school, for example, faculty and students agree that personal property being stolen is an issue.
Academic text (2011) -
Students report damage to school and personal property, as well as fights and harassment or intimidation, mostly related to gang activity.
Academic text (2011) -
These seats are the personal property of the owner.
-
Ladies and gentlemen, please maintain visual contact with your personal property at all times.
-
Unfortunately, library personnel and many members of the department regard library books as their personal property.
Academic text (1990) -
We also had to declare our personal property in the camp office, and we got a certification.
Academic text (2008) -
It's common knowledge that items of personal property can have very important meaning: a flag, a photograph, a religious symbol.
Academic text (2010) -
The term facility may include buildings or personal property such as tanks and drums.
Academic text (1993) -
The International Society of Appraisers has a Fine Arts division within the personal property category and serves the United States and Canada.
Academic text (2015) -
All personal property was evaluated and taxed.
Synonyms
∞
1.4
Something that a person or group owns, for example land and buildings
240
1.7
A thing that belongs to someone
68
2.8
Things you can move, like cars or jewelry, that belong to one person, not land
33
3.5
Small personal items a person carries, like clothes or jewelry
7
3.0
A thing you can touch that belongs to someone
3
4.1
Things a person owns, like clothes, money, and furniture
1
6.1
Things someone owns that can be moved, not land and buildings, like a car or jewelry
1
1.0
Things a person owns and can carry
1
3.8
All the things a person owns, like clothes or furniture
Things a person owns that can be moved, not land or buildings
A thing you own that you can move, like furniture or a car
Antonyms
How Tangible
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is compositionally derived from 'personal' (belonging to a person) + 'property' (assets), so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer 'possessions' or 'things owned by someone.' While legal usage narrows it to movable property (as opposed to real estate), the everyday sense is directly predictable from the constituents.
Etymology
Personal property comes from an old idea in the law: personal meant the things a person could carry and property meant their possessions. So it referred to things you can move—not land or a house ('real estate')—which is why today personal property means movable possessions like furniture, cars, or jewelry.