# property

/ˈpɹɑpɝti/ (US) · /pɹˈɒpəti/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/property
Updated: 2026-07-22

## Senses

### 1. real estate

noun · CEFR B1

a building or a piece of land that someone owns.

For teachers: a piece of real estate, such as a parcel of land or a building. Often used uncountably to refer to the sector or industry.

- The value of property in this neighborhood has increased significantly lately.
- The developer acquired several commercial properties along the waterfront with the intention of converting them into luxury apartments.

### 2. possessions

noun · CEFR B1

things that belong to someone.

For teachers: something that is owned; a possession or a collection of possessions. Usually uncountable in this sense.

- Please make sure you take all your personal property with you when you leave the train.
- The police recovered the stolen property and returned it to the rightful owners after the investigation concluded.

### 3. a characteristic

noun · CEFR B2 · Academic

a quality or power that a thing has.

For teachers: an attribute, quality, or characteristic of a substance or object.

- One property of copper is that it conducts heat very well.
- The chemical properties of the new alloy make it resistant to corrosion even in extreme maritime environments.

### 4. theatre prop

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

an object used by actors during a play or film.

For teachers: a portable object used on the set of a play or film. Usually used in the shortened form 'prop'.

- The stage manager was responsible for finding all the historical properties for the play.
- The production designer insisted on authentic period properties to enhance the realism of the Victorian drawing-room scene.

### 5. computing attribute

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

a setting or piece of information about a file or program.

For teachers: a named attribute of an object or a data element that defines one of its characteristics.

- Right-click on the file and select properties to see how large it is.
- The developer modified the object's properties to ensure the interface would scale correctly on mobile devices.

## Examples

- The police recovered the stolen property.
- The developer bought the old property to turn it into a modern apartment building.
- One physical property of copper is its high electrical conductivity, which makes it an essential material for manufacturing wiring and electronic components.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.