escheat

verb

escheated; escheating; escheats

transitive verb

: to cause to revert by escheat

intransitive verb

: to revert by escheat

escheatable

is-ˈchē-tə-bəl 

ish-

adjective

Examples of escheat in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

If no close relatives exist, state law may dig up increasingly distant kin, and in extreme cases, your estate may even escheat to the state (which is a lawyerly way of saying the government gets it). —Ashley Case, Forbes.com, 31 Mar. 2025

If clinics can’t locate patients and/or the patient is deceased, there are state laws that dictate the course of action (e.g. escheat or unclaimed property laws). —Jeff Gorke, Forbes, 7 Oct. 2024

With our present constitutions of government, escheat can never have its feudal sense in the United States. —Liz Tracey, JSTOR Daily, 19 Apr. 2024

In Texas, unlike many other states, unclaimed property does not generally escheat to the state. —Wesley E. Wright, Houston Chronicle, 16 Mar. 2018

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for escheat

• amit
• athlete
• backseat
• blackfeet
• broadsheet
• browbeat
• buckwheat
• compete
• compleat
• complete
• conceit
• concrete

Legal Definition

escheat

1 of 2 noun

es·​cheat is-ˈchēt 

1

: escheated property

2

: the reversion of property to the state upon the death of the owner when there are no heirs

escheat

2 of 2 transitive verb

: to cause to revert by escheat

intransitive verb

: to revert by escheat

escheatable adjective

Etymology

Anglo-French eschete reversion of property, from Old French escheoite accession, inheritance, from feminine past participle of escheoir to fall (to), befall, ultimately from Latin ex- out + cadere to fall