What does ejectment mean?
Ejectment is a chiefly legal term denoting the process of removing a person from possession of property, especially through a court action to recover possession of real estate held by someone with no lawful right to occupy it. In its dominant modern sense, an ejectment is a formal legal proceeding brought by a party claiming title or a superior right to possession, as distinct from eviction proceedings arising from a landlord–tenant relationship. The word can also refer more generally to the act of forcibly expelling or dismissing someone or something, though this broader sense is now relatively uncommon and largely displaced by terms such as ejection or expulsion. Ejectment carries a formal, technical connotation and appears almost exclusively in legal writing, judgments, and news reports about property disputes. Historically, the action of ejectment played a notable role in English law as a procedural device for litigating title to land.
nounThe legal action of recovering possession of real property from someone unlawfully occupying it; also, the act of ejecting or expelling someone or something.
- A legal action to recover possession of real property from someone occupying it wrongfully.
- The act of ejecting or expelling someone or something; forced removal.
"After months of warnings, the landlord finally filed an ejectment suit against the squatters."
"The heirs brought an ejectment claim to recover the family farm sold without their consent."
"The sudden ejectment of the tenants left the village outraged."
Rarely used in the plural; when pluralized, it typically refers to multiple legal actions or instances of removal.
"The court handled several ejectments arising from the disputed estate that year."
In English property law, an 'action of ejectment' was once so popular as a legal fiction that lawyers used it to test land titles without anyone actually being thrown off anything.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of ejectment
Ejectment derives from the verb eject, which comes from Latin eiicere (also spelled eicere), meaning to throw out or cast forth, formed from ex- ('out') plus iacere ('to throw'). The noun suffix -ment turns the verb into a term for the action or result of ejecting. It entered English in the early modern period and became established as a technical term in English property law. It shares its Latin root with words such as injection, rejection, projection, and trajectory.
How ejectment is actually used
Predominantly formal and legal in register. In modern usage it most often appears in property-law contexts, where it denotes a court action to regain possession of land rather than merely the physical removal of occupants.
Easily confused with ejectment
Ejection is the general act of forcing someone or something out (as from a venue), while ejectment is primarily the legal proceeding to recover possession of property.