5 definitions found for distraint

distraint n 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" [syn: distress, distraint]

distraint noun Etymology: distrain + -t (as in constraint) Date: circa 1736 the act or action of distraining

distraint
n. Law the seizure of chattels to make a person pay rent etc. or meet an obligation, or to obtain satisfaction by their sale.
Etymology: DISTRAIN, after constraint

distraint n. Law the seizure of chattels to make a person pay rent etc. or meet an obligation, or to obtain satisfaction by their sale. [DISTRAIN, after constraint]

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