Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
warehouseman's lien

warehouseman's lien

9.9
The right to keep stored goods until the owner pays storage fees
  • noun
  • /ˈwɛrhaʊsˌmənz liːn/
  • Formal
translation icon : derecho de retención del almacenista
  • The company exercised its warehouseman's lien to secure payment for the overdue storage fees.

Examples

  • He could not retrieve his equipment until the warehouseman's lien was satisfied.

  • Because of the unpaid charges, the warehouseman's lien prevented the delivery of the goods to the customer.

  • The warehouseman's lien protects the storage facility's interests.

  • Did you understand the warehouseman's lien rules?

  • Due to the outstanding debt, the warehouseman's lien allowed the warehouse to retain the customer's goods.

  • The warehouseman's lien enabled the storage company to hold onto the products until all fees were cleared.

  • Under the warehouseman's lien, the owner could not reclaim their belongings until the storage charges were fully paid.

Synonyms

lien
vswarehouseman's lien
  • Specialized
30 9.4

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

is specific to holding stored goods until unpaid storage charges are settled

Surface Forms

warehouseman's lien singular
warehousemen's liens plural

Morphology

warehouseman's + lien

The phrase literally names the lien (legal right) held by a warehouseman — i.e. the right to retain stored goods until storage charges are paid. This is a regular possessive + legal-noun composition, so a learner who knows both 'warehouseman' and 'lien' can directly derive the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Warehouseman's lien comes from the simple image of a warehouse worker, the warehouseman, holding a customer's stored goods when the owner has not paid. The word lien means a 'right to keep', so warehouseman's lien means 'the right to keep goods until storage charges are paid'.