property right

noun

Updated on: 17 Apr 2018

Definition of property right

: a legal right or interest in or against specific property

Recent Examples of property right from the Web

Debates about the origins of the Industrial Revolution revolve around the relative importance of secure property rights, the extent to which cultures tolerate personal ambition and so on.

— The Economist, "Economists understand little about the causes of growth," 12 Apr. 2018
Second, after subjugated as slaves the North American slave owners, black and white, had a property right in the labor of the slaves.

— michael harriot, The Root, "Meet the Koch-Funded, White Supremacist Professor Teaching at Florida Atlantic University," 10 Apr. 2018
Her mother must make the death look like an accident in order to save their farm from a landowner who claims that suicides forfeit property rights, and Cielle is enlisted to help hide the truth.

— sheelah kolhatkar, The New Yorker, "Briefly Noted," 2 Apr. 2018
The import duties would come in response to U.S. allegations that China violates American intellectual-property rights.

— Bloomberg.com, "Investors Nervous as U.S. Drafts China Tariff List: Trade Update," 28 Mar. 2018
The real question is whether society will side on the interests of all citizens’ fundamental property rights, or will society seek comfort under the warm blanket of regulatory authority in the guise of public welfare.

— anthony graziano, miamiherald, "When does a house stop being a house? (And start being an office or a hotel?) | Miami Herald," 16 Mar. 2018
Dominion’s plan to build the Atlantic Coast Pipeline to carry natural gas through some of the most scenic parts of the state drew heated opposition from both environmentalists and property rights advocates.

— Washington Post, "The giant company that could: How Dominion turned scorn into a big payday," 9 Mar. 2018
Legal opinions written on the matter show an inconsistency as to what is and is not a violation of an individual's property rights.

— fatima hussein, Indianapolis Star, "Indiana one step closer to forfeiture reform," 4 Feb. 2018
Private landowners must be reimbursed at a fair market value—though the value of property rights deep underground is unclear.

— nicole goodkind, Newsweek, "Trump Infrastructure Plan Includes Elon Musk-Style High-Speed Rail Tunnels And Eminent Domain," 5 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'property right.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.