<p><strong>Verb</strong></p><ul><li>(used with object) to take possession of, especially for public use by the right of eminent domain, thus divesting the title of the private owner: The government expropriated the land for a recreation area.</li><li>to dispossess (a person) of ownership: The revolutionary government expropriated the landowners from their estates.</li><li>to take (something) from another's possession for one's own use: He expropriated my ideas for his own article.</li></ul>