Meaning & use
movable property
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountablelegalformal
Things you own that can be moved, such as furniture, cars, or jewelry, as opposed to land and buildings.
Grammar: Uncountable; used in legal and formal contexts. Do not say 'a movable property' or 'movable properties'.
Patterns
- movable property
- a piece of movable property
The will divides her movable property equally among her three children.
In this country, movable property such as cars and boats is taxed differently from land.
nouncountablelegalformalrare
A specific item that can be moved and is owned by someone, in legal usage.
Grammar: Countable in some legal texts, but rare in everyday English. Usually 'movable property' as a mass noun.
Patterns
- a movable property
- movable properties
The stolen necklace was treated as a movable property under the insurance policy.
The court listed each movable property that had been taken from the house.
Common combinations
- movable property tax
- The state charges a movable property tax on business equipment.
- seize movable property
- The bank can seize movable property if the loan is not repaid.
- transfer movable property
- You must transfer movable property to the buyer's name.
- movable property insurance
- Our movable property insurance covers furniture and electronics.
Synonyms and how they differ
- personal property
- More common in everyday and legal English; it includes movable items but sometimes also intangible things like bank accounts.
- chattel
- A very formal legal term for an item of movable property; it sounds old-fashioned outside law.
- belongings
- Everyday word for the things you own that you can carry; it does not include large items like cars or furniture.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: movable property or immovable property?
movable property vs immovable property
Immovable property is land and buildings, which cannot be moved. Movable property is the opposite.
Practice
Which of these is most likely to be considered movable property?
Choose one answer.
A car can be moved and is not land or a building, so it is movable property. A house, factory, and land are immovable property.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “movable property”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.