expropriate: Meaning and Definition of

ex•pro•pri•ate

1. to take possession of, esp. for public use by the right of eminent domain, thus divesting the title of the private owner: The government expropriated the land for a recreation area.
2. to dispossess (a person) of ownership: The revolutionary government expropriated the landowners from their estates.
3. to take (something) from another's possession for one's own use: He expropriated my ideas for his own article.