Meaning & use
habitual abode
Last updated
Meaning
phrasefixed phraselegalformal
The place where a person normally lives, especially as defined in law.
Grammar: Used as a noun phrase: your habitual abode, a person's habitual abode.
Patterns
- someone's habitual abode
- establish a habitual abode
For tax purposes, your habitual abode is the country where you spend most of the year.
The court had to decide whether the defendant's habitual abode was in France or Spain.
Immigration officers asked her to prove her habitual abode was in Canada.
Common combinations
- establish a habitual abode
- He established a habitual abode in London after living there for five years.
- someone's habitual abode
- The document lists her habitual abode as 14 Maple Street.
- change one's habitual abode
- They changed their habitual abode when they moved to Australia.
Synonyms and how they differ
Commonly confused: habitual abode or habitual residence?
habitual abode vs habitual residence
Habitual residence is similar but is used more in family and child law; habitual abode appears more in tax and immigration contexts.
Practice
In tax law, a person's habitual abode is ______.
Choose one answer.
'Habitual abode' means the place where someone normally lives. A holiday home or unused property does not qualify because it is not habitual.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “habitual abode”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.