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Simple English definitions for legal terms
purchase
Read a random definition: Q.C.
A quick definition of purchase:
Purchase: When you buy something, it's called a purchase. It can be anything from a toy to a house. If you get a house as a gift or through a will, it's also called a purchase. Sometimes, the government can take away someone's property for public use, and that's called eminent domain. But they have to pay the owner a fair price for it.
A more thorough explanation:
Purchase (noun) refers to the act of buying something. It can also refer to the acquisition of real property by one's own or another's act (as by will or gift) rather than by descent or inheritance.
Purchase (verb) means to buy something.
Compulsory purchase is a rare term that refers to the power of a government entity to take privately owned property, especially land, and convert it to public use, subject to reasonable compensation for the taking. It is also known as eminent domain or compulsory surrender in Scots law.
- She made a purchase of a new dress for the party.
- He inherited the property from his father, but he made a purchase of another property nearby.
- The government made a compulsory purchase of the land to build a new highway.
The first two examples illustrate the noun form of purchase, where someone is buying something. The third example illustrates the verb form of purchase, where the government is taking ownership of private property for public use.