Pronunciation: (eks-prō'prē-āt"), [key]
—v.t., -at•ed, -at•ing.
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.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.