lien

CEFRC1

/ˈlaɪ.in/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A legal right to keep property until a debt is paid.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A right to take possession of a debtor’s property as security until a debt or duty is discharged.

Examples

  • The interplanetary bank placed a lien on Tom's space cruiser.

  • There's a lien on my house.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
4
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
1

Also pronounced

  • /ˈlaɪən/
  • /liːn/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A tendon.

  2. The spleen.

More examples

In context

  • The lien or spleen (figs. 282 to 285) is a soft, highly vascular contractile and very elastic organ of a dark purplish colour. It is placed obliquely behind the stomach, …

  • […] every youth movement presents itself as loan to the future, and tries to call in its lien in advance, but when there is no future all loans are canceled.

  • Bodin deemed the king of France's power as absolute in the sense that the ruler was ‘absolved’ by divine sanction from legally binding liens and restrictions.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The bank placed a blank on the house because the owner failed to repay the loan.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

Borrowed from Middle French lien, from Latin ligāmen (“a bond”), from ligō (“tie, bind”).