eminent : Idioms & Phrases


eminent domain

  • noun the right of the state to take private property for public use; the Fifth Amendment that was added to the Constitution of the United States requires that just compensation be made
WordNet

Right of eminent domain

  • that superior dominion of the sovereign power over all the property within the state, including that previously granted by itself, which authorizes it to appropriate any part thereof to a necessary public use, reasonable compensation being made.
Webster 1913