To seize or take away property from someone, usually by the government or authority, typically for public use or the common good.
From Latin expropriatus, past participle of expropriare, from ex- (out) plus propriare (to own). It literally means 'to take out of someone's own hands.'
Eminent domain laws in America allow governments to expropriate private land for highways or airports, but other countries handle this differently—comparing expropriation policies reveals fundamentally different beliefs about property rights and state power.
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