eminent domain

/ˈɛmənənt doʊˈmeɪn/

Eminent domain is the right a government or state has to take property away from someone so it can be used for a public purpose. When a new highway is built, some people often lose part of their land by eminent domain.

Eminent domain is a legal term that's used when private property is taken for public use, to build a road, building, or public utility, or to protect public safety. Usually, when the government uses eminent domain to seize a property, it pays the owner what's considered to be a fair price for the loss. Eminent domain has been around since the early 1600's, when it appeared in a Dutch legal treatise, the original Latin phrase being dominium eminens, or "supreme lordship."

Definitions of eminent domain

1. noun

   the right of the state to take private property for public use; the Fifth Amendment that was added to the Constitution of the United States requires that just compensation be made
   type of:

   legal right

   a right based in law