DISTRAINT - Definition

Pronunciation:		di'streynt
WordNet Dictionary

	Definition:	[n] the seizure and holding of property as security for payment of a debt or satisfaction of a claim; "Originally distress was a landloard's remedy against a tenant for unpaid rents or property damage but now the landlord is given a landlord's lien"

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	Synonyms:	distress

	See Also:	seizure

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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