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
• • •
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.
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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financial assets such as bonds and shares