PROPERTY


Meaning of PROPERTY in English

prop ‧ er ‧ ty S2 W1 /ˈprɒpəti $ ˈprɑːpər-/ BrE AmE noun ( plural properties )

[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: propreté , from Latin proprietas , from proprius ; ⇨ ↑ proper ]

1 . [uncountable] the thing or things that someone owns:

The hotel is not responsible for any loss or damage to guests’ personal property.

Some of the stolen property was found in Mason’s house.

2 . [uncountable and countable] a building, a piece of land, or both together:

Property prices have shot up recently.

the property market

a sign saying ‘Private Property. Keep Out.’

property taxes

commercial/residential property

3 . [countable usually plural] a quality or power that a substance, plant etc has SYN quality , characteristic :

a herb with healing properties

physical/chemical etc properties

the chemical properties of a substance

⇨ ↑ lost property , ↑ real property , ↑ intellectual property

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COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 2)

■ verbs

▪ buy/sell (a) property

Buying a property is a complicated business.

■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + property

▪ detached especially British English (=not joined to another house)

It is a modern detached property with five bedrooms.

▪ semi-detached British English (=joined to one other house)

This semi-detached property is located in one of the most sought-after areas of the town.

▪ a three-bedroom/four-bedroom etc property

Four-bedroom properties are usually ideal for families.

▪ a desirable property

It is a desirable property with a south-facing garden.

▪ commercial property (=buildings used by businesses)

The bombs caused damage to commercial property.

▪ residential property (=buildings that people live in)

The site proposed for the factory is too near to residential property.

▪ private property

The land on the other side of the gate is private property.

■ property + NOUN

▪ property prices

Property prices are much lower here than in London.

▪ the property market

There were no signs of an upturn in the property market.

▪ a property owner

It makes sense for property owners to extend their houses rather than move.

• • •

COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 3)

■ adjectives

▪ physical properties

What are the physical properties of metals?

▪ chemical properties

They grouped the known elements by chemical properties.

▪ electrical properties

Each type of cell has distinct electrical properties.

▪ magnetic properties

the magnetic properties of iron and nickel

▪ optical properties

These minerals have similar optical properties.

▪ healing/medicinal properties

The old women know about the healing properties of local herbs.

▪ health-giving properties

They believed that the water had special health-giving properties.

▪ antiseptic properties

This plant has mild antiseptic properties.

• • •

THESAURUS

▪ property [uncountable] the things that a person, organization etc owns:

He left most of his property to his grandaughter.

|

They were arrested and charged with damaging school property.

▪ possessions [plural] all the things that you own or have with you at a particular time:

He sold all his possessions and left the country.

|

The prisoners were allowed to have few personal possessions.

▪ belongings [plural] things you own such as clothes, books etc, especially things you take with you when travelling:

I quickly packed a few of my belongings in an overnight bag.

▪ things [plural] spoken ( also stuff [uncountable] informal ) small things you own, such as clothes, books etc:

Don’t leave your things all over the floor!

|

I’ve got so much stuff, I don’t know where to put it all.

▪ valuables [plural] things that you own that are worth a lot of money and may get stolen, for example jewellery or cameras:

The advice from police is: if you have valuables don’t leave them in the car.

|

Keep valuables like TVs and computer equipment out of sight.

▪ personal effects [plural] formal small things you own – used especially when there is an accident, a robbery, or the person who owns them dies:

The insurance policy covers baggage and personal effects – up to £1,000 per person.

|

After Turing’s death in 1954, his mother received his personal effects, including the Order of the British Empire, awarded in 1946 for his code work.

|

Sections of aircraft wreckage and personal effects were scattered all around.

▪ assets [plural] houses, land, shares etc that a person or organization owns and would be able to sell if they needed money – used especially in legal or business contexts:

Many homeowners now have assets of over £234,000 in the value of their home alone.

|

financial assets such as bonds and shares

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.