personal property
personal property — noun
1. all the movable items that a person owns, for example furniture, money, vehicles
all the movable items that a person owns, for example furniture, money, vehicles, jewellery, and clothing, which can be taken along when moving to a new home or travelling
When Reema moved to a new flat, she packed all her personal property into boxes.
collocation: pack personal property
The flood destroyed most of Hao's personal property, including his laptop and bicycle.
Hana's rental insurance covers personal property worth up to fifty thousand dollars.
Amani asked a neighbour to look after her personal property while she studied in Canada.
Every item of personal property that Esteban owned fit into the back of one truck.
- belongings
more casual, used for everyday items you carry or keep nearby
- possessions
slightly more formal; can include both movable and non-movable items
- effects
formal and legal language, common in wills and insurance documents
- chattels
strictly a legal term for movable property; rare in everyday speech
- real estate
land and buildings, the opposite type of property
- real property
the legal term for land and anything built on it
用法筆記
Frequently used in the context of insurance, moving, inheritance, and legal disputes over belongings. Uncountable — do not say 'a personal property' or 'personal properties' for this sense.
常見錯誤
2. in legal contexts, everything that a person or company owns except land and buil
in legal contexts, everything that a person or company owns except land and buildings, including money, shares, contracts, patents, and physical movable objects
The lawyer told Inês that her car counted as personal property under state law.
legal: personal property under [law]
Under the will, Eric inherited all personal property while the house went to his brother.
legal contrast: personal property vs real property in a will
In a divorce, the court decides how to divide the couple's personal property fairly.
A patent or copyright is a form of intellectual personal property with measurable financial value.
When a firm goes bankrupt, its personal property is sold to pay debts.
- chattels
exact legal synonym; old-fashioned outside legal documents
- movable property
the literal legal term; common in statutes and contracts
- personalty
the formal legal noun; very rare in modern usage outside law textbooks
- real property
land, buildings, and anything permanently attached to them
- immovable property
civil-law synonym for real estate; used in some legal systems
用法筆記
Restricted to formal legal and financial writing. In everyday conversation, use 'belongings' or 'things you own' instead. Distinguish from sense 1: sense 2 explicitly includes intangible assets (stocks, patents, contracts), while sense 1 focuses on physical movable goods.