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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
Washington Post, 3 Feb. 2026
Whatever preference the players have not to grow the schedule is usurped by their priority to grow their wallet.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Feb. 2026
After witnessing Sinner miss 16 break points against the same opponent on Friday, Alcaraz would have been forgiven for worrying that something similar might happen to him — especially against arguably tennis’s greatest escape artist, at least until the Spaniard usurps him.
—Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 1 Feb. 2026
There’s also the defense to consider since Arraez will usurp Casey Schmitt as the team’s starting second baseman.
—Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 1 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for usurp
Cite this Entry
“Usurp.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/usurp. Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.
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Legal Definition
usurp
verbLatin usurpare to take possession of without a strict legal claim, from usus use + rapere to seize
