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While often associated with questionable behavior by the royals of eras past, usurp retains its usefulness today. It’s still typically applied when someone takes power without authority or the right to do so, though the power taken is not necessarily political and the question of right and authority may be subject to debate; a city council usurping a mayor’s power is a more traditional use of the word, but one product can be said to be usurping market share from another, and one athlete may claim to have usurped GOAT status. The usurpation can even be sartorial: Amanda Mull, writing for The Atlantic, noted how tracksuits in the 1980s “usurped much of cotton sweatpants’ momentum toward legitimate coolness.” Usurp comes from Latin: usurpare, meaning “to take possession of without a legal claim,” was formed by combining usu (a form of usus, meaning “use,” which also led to the words usually and use) and rapere (“to seize”).
Examples of usurp in a Sentence
Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 25 May 2025
Pitney Bowes is now on its fourth CEO in three years, with the activist investor that started it all usurping the head of the table.
—Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 23 May 2025
In many cases, the government usurps the market and replaces the judgment of private citizens with that of unelected bureaucrats.
—Norbert Michel, Forbes.com, 14 May 2025
Elliott had usurped the top spot out of the pits on Lap 169 and gapped the rest of the field after a Lap 174 restart.
—The Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 11 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for usurp
Cite this Entry
“Usurp.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/usurp. Accessed 28 May. 2025.
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Legal Definition
usurp
verbLatin usurpare to take possession of without a strict legal claim, from usus use + rapere to seize
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