estate

1 of 2

noun

es·​tate i-ˈstāt 

1

: state, condition

2

: social standing or rank especially of a high order

3

: a social or political class

specifically : one of the great classes (such as the nobility, the clergy, and the commons) formerly vested with distinct political powers

4

a

: the degree, quality, nature, and extent of one's interest in land or other property

b(1)

: possessions, property

especially : a person's property in land and tenements

a man of small estate

(2)

: the assets and liabilities left by a person at death

c

: a landed property usually with a large house on it

d

British : project sense 4

5

British : station wagon

6

: farm, plantation

also : vineyard

estate

2 of 2

adjective

: previously owned by another and usually of high quality

estate jewelry

Synonyms

Noun

• mansion
• manor
• hacienda
• villa
• castle
• housing
• palace

Examples of estate in a Sentence

Noun

His estate is worth millions of dollars.

He inherited the estate from his parents.

the grounds of the estate

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Trump hosted Jinping at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, in April 2017 but came away without any commitments on economic issues or dealing with North Korea. —Bart Jansen, USA Today, 24 Oct. 2025

In the past, estate sales would draw a few early birds for clothing. —Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 24 Oct. 2025

Adjective

For distilleries making both estate and non-estate whiskey, proper segregation of grains and distillate need to be assured. —Don Tse, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025

Currently popular items among these shops include vintage cameras and typewriters, pocket watches and timepieces, Victorian and estate jewelry, military memorabilia and World War II posters, sterling silver, and advertising signs. —Cheryl P. Rose, Houston Chronicle, 15 Nov. 2019

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English estat, from Anglo-French — more at state

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1978, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing estate

• estate agent
• estate-bottled
• estate car
• estate tax
• first estate
• fourth estate
• housing estate
• industrial estate
• real estate
• real estate agent
• second estate
• third estate

Rhymes for estate

• abate
• airfreight
• await
• baseplate
• berate
• birthdate
• birthrate
• bookplate
• borate
• breastplate
• bromate
• casemate

Kids Definition

estate

noun

es·​tate

is-ˈtāt

1

: the condition or circumstances of one's existence

2

: a social or political class

3

a

: the possessions or property of a person

especially : a person's property in land

b

: the assets and liabilities left by a person at death

c

: a large country house on a large piece of land

Legal Definition

estate

noun

es·​tate i-ˈstāt 

1

: the interest of a particular degree, nature, quality, or extent that one has in land or other property compare fee, future interest at interest, remainder, reversion, tenancy

— absolute estate

: an estate that confers an absolute right to property and that is subject to no limitations, restrictions, or conditions : fee simple absolute at fee simple

— contingent estate

: an estate whose vesting is conditioned upon the happening or failure of some uncertain event

— equitable estate

: the estate of one that has a beneficial right to property which is legally owned by a trustee or a person regarded at equity as a trustee (as in the case of a use or power) compare legal estate in this entry

— estate at sufferance

: the estate in property held by one who remains in possession of or on the property after his or her lawful right to do so has ended

— estate at will

: an estate in property subject to termination at the will of another person

— estate by the entirety

: an estate held by a husband and wife together in which the whole property belongs to each of them and passes as a whole to the survivor upon the death of either of them to the exclusion of the deceased spouse's heirs

called also estate by the entireties

compare joint tenancy, tenancy by the entirety, and tenancy in common at tenancy

— estate for years

: an estate that terminates after a set period

— estate in expectancy

: an estate the enjoyment of which will take place at a future time : future interest at interest

— estate of inheritance

: an estate that can be inherited (as a fee simple as opposed to a life estate)

— estate on condition

: an estate subject to a contingency whose happening permits the grantor of the estate to terminate it if he or she so chooses compare fee simple determinable at fee simple

— estate pur autre vie

: a life estate measured by the life of a third person rather than that of the person enjoying the property

— estate tail estates tail

: an estate granted to a person and his or her direct descendants subject to a reverter or remainder upon the inheritance of the property by a grantee without direct descendants : fee tail at fee

— legal estate

: an estate to which one person (as a trustee) has legal title but of which another person has the right to the beneficial use compare equitable estate in this entry

— life estate

: an estate in property held only during or measured in duration by the lifetime of a specified individual and especially the individual enjoying the property see also life tenant

Note: Life estates are not estates of inheritance.

— vested estate

: an estate in which one has a right to enjoyment currently or sometime in the future

2

: all or designated items of a person's or entity's property considered as a whole

— bankruptcy estate

: the estate of a debtor in bankruptcy that includes all the debtor's legal and equitable interests in property as set out in the bankruptcy laws

called also debtor's estate

see also bankruptcy, trustee in bankruptcy

— personal estate

: all of a person's property except real property

broadly : all of the property belonging to a person

— separate estate

: an estate whose ownership and control is enjoyed by a person free from any rights or control of another (as a spouse)

3

a

: the assets and liabilities left by a person at death see also bequest, devise, freehold, heir, inheritance, intestate, leasehold, legacy, probate, testate, will

— augmented estate \ ȯg-​ˈmen-​təd-​ \

: a deceased person's probate estate increased in accordance with statutory provisions and especially by the addition of any property transferred by the deceased within two years of death, any joint tenancies, and any transfers in which the deceased retained either the right to revoke or the income for life

Note: In some states, the surviving spouse's elective share is distributed from the augmented estate.

— gross estate

: the estate of a person upon death defined by federal estate laws to include all of the deceased's real and personal property at death that may be passed by will or by intestate succession as well as specified property transferred by the deceased before death

— probate estate

: all of a deceased person's estate that is administered under the jurisdiction of the probate court

Note: Some assets, such as certain insurance proceeds, generally do not become part of the probate estate and are said to “pass outside of probate.”

— residuary estate

: all of what is left of an estate once the deceased person's debts and administration costs have been paid and all specific and general bequests and devises have been distributed

called also residual estate

— taxable estate

: the estate of a deceased person that is subject to estate tax

Note: Under federal estate tax law, the taxable estate is the gross estate less allowed deductions.

b

: the aggregate of a deceased person's property considered as a legal entity

4

: a tract of land especially affected by an easement

— dominant estate

: a tract of land that is benefited by an easement burdening a servient estate

— servient estate

: a tract of land that is burdened by an easement benefiting a dominant estate

Etymology

Noun

Anglo-French estat, literally, state, condition, from Old French, from Latin status, from stare to stand