verb · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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/ˈæɹəɡeɪt/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:AE1 R OW0 G EY2 T
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
verb
Meaning 1
To appropriate or lay claim to something for oneself without right.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive, uncommon
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: commandeer, expropriate, usurp
Antonyms: abandon, abdicate, relinquish, renounce
2
verb
Meaning 2
seize and take control without authority and possibly with force; take as one's right or possession
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
He assumed to himself the right to fill all positions in the town
he usurped my rights
She seized control of the throne after her husband died