distraint

Noun
Synonyms: distress

WordNet 3.0

Noun (1)

  1. the seizure and holding of property as security for payment of a debt or satisfaction of a claim“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”Synonyms: distress
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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Distraint \Dis*traint"\, n. [OF. destrainte distress, force.] (Law) The act or proceeding of seizing personal property by distress. --Abbott. [1913 Webster]
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