Standard Lemma guide

distraint

noun · 2 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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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The legal right of a landlord to seize the property of a tenant in the event of nonpayment of rent.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: law

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

the seizure and holding of property as security for payment of a debt or satisfaction of a claim

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • Originally distress was a landlord's remedy against a tenant for unpaid rents or property damage but now the landlord is given a landlord's lien

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: distress

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: seizure

History

Etymology

From distrain, on the model of such pairs as constrain, constraint and restrain, restraint.

Across languages

Translations

13 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: pidätysoikeus — right of a landlord to seize the property of a tenant
  • French: saisie-exécution — right of a landlord to seize the property of a tenant
  • French: saisie mobilière — right of a landlord to seize the property of a tenant
  • French: saisie-arrêt — right of a landlord to seize the property of a tenant
  • Hungarian: végrehajtás — right of a landlord to seize the property of a tenant
  • Hungarian: lefoglalás — right of a landlord to seize the property of a tenant
  • Hungarian: zár alá vétel — right of a landlord to seize the property of a tenant
  • Italian: pignoramento — right of a landlord to seize the property of a tenant
  • Polish: zajęcie — right of a landlord to seize the property of a tenant
  • Romanian: sechestru — right of a landlord to seize the property of a tenant
  • Serbo-Croatian: ȍvrha — right of a landlord to seize the property of a tenant
  • Spanish: embargo — right of a landlord to seize the property of a tenant
  • Spanish: peindra (disused) — right of a landlord to seize the property of a tenant