Word.ws English Dictionary

usufruct

Syllables: usu·fructUK/ˈjuːz(j)ʊfɹʌkt//ˈjuzəˌfɹəkt/

usufruct noun: the legal right to use and derive profit or benefit from property that belongs to another person, as long as the property is not damaged.

usufruct: the legal right to use and derive profit or benefit from property that belongs to another person,...
Image: Ra Boe, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

usufruct (plural usufructs)

  1. The legal right to use and derive profit or benefit from property that belongs to another person, as long as the property is not damaged.
    • We ought to obſerve, that Uſufruct or Uſe for the Profits, and other ſort of Servitudes are the Rights which we enjoy gratuitouſly: For if we pay an Annual Rent, 'twill be then a kind of Letting or Hiring.1729, [Samuel von Pufendorf], “Of Right over Other Mens Goods or Possessions”, in Basil Kennett, transl., Of the Law of Nature and Nations. Eight Books. Written in Latin by the Baron Pufendorf...
    • [T]eaching the Koran is not property; neither does usufruct constitute property (according to the sentiments of our doctors), because that is not substantial or permanent, whereas property is a thing of a permanent nature, and what constitutes actual wealth; […]1870, [Burhan al-Din al-Marghinani], Standish Grove Grady, “Of the Mihr, or Dower”, in Charles Hamilton, transl., The Hedaya, or Guide: A Commentary on the Mussulman Laws, 2nd edition, volume I...
    Synonyms:
    liferent

Verb

usufruct (third-person singular simple present usufructs, present participle usufructing, simple past and past participle usufructed)

  1. (also, figuratively) To use and derive profit or benefit from property that belongs to another person.
    • An enabling myth is just that—a myth that enables those who benefit from the status quo to keep on benefiting. Thorstein Veblen would say that it enabled the usufructuaries to keep on usufructing.1992, William M. Dugger, “Three Modes of Income Distribution”, in Underground Economics: A Decade of Institutionalist Dissent (Institutional Economics Series), Armonk, N.Y.: M. E. Sharpe, →ISBN, page...
    • The use of the property of an orphan by a guardian who carries out his guardianship, is allowed for the latter's daily subsistence. Such use should be just and reasonable. […] According to al-Sha'bá, such just and reasonable use is like usufructing the milk of cattle, having services from servants...1994, Abdullah Alwi Haji Hassan, “Loans, Deposit and al-Ḥajr”, in Sales and Contracts in Early Islamic Commercial Law, Islamabad: Islamic Research Institute, International Islamic University...

usufruct meaning in Tagalog, Indonesian, Persian and Thai

usufruct in Tagalog

legal right to use and derive profit or benefit from property that belongs to another person
usuprukto

usufruct in Indonesian

legal right to use and derive profit or benefit from property that belongs to another person
hak pakai hasil

usufruct in Persian

legal right to use and derive profit or benefit from property that belongs to another person
حق انتفاع

usufruct in Thai

legal right to use and derive profit or benefit from property that belongs to another person
สิทธิเก็บกิน sìt-tí-gèp-gin

Examples of usufruct in a sentence

  • Every American college president, it appears, is in duty bound to write and utter at least one book upon the nature, aims and usufructs of the Higher Education.1931 September, H[enry] L[ouis] Mencken, “The Boon of Culture”, in The American Mercury, Torrance, Calif.: American Mercury, ISSN...
  • International law recognizes a use right that is akin to the civil law usufruct or the common law life estate, lease, or profit.2014, John G. Sprankling, “An International Definition of ‘Property’”, in The International Law of Property, Oxford; New York, N.Y.: Oxford...
  • “I’ve already granted you usufruct of the dead mackerels floating on the Seine!”2026 [1979], Copi, “The Surprise Party”, in Kit Schluter, transl., City of Rats, New Directions Publishing, →ISBN, page 16:
  • So they got together for a big meeting someplace and started an organization that would protect bullies from people who would not allow them to usufruct with impunity.2012, Frederic Voss, “The Origins of Usufruct”, in The Newshawk Reports: The Writings of a Politically Incorrect Newsbird, [Bloomington...

Synonyms of usufruct

Forms of usufruct

Noun
pluralusufructs
alternative form (obsolete)usufruit
Verb
third-person singular presentusufructs
present participleusufructing
past participleusufructed
pastusufructed

Origin of usufruct

From Late Latin ūsufrūctus, from ūsus + frūctus (“usage of the fruits of production”). Cognate with French usufruit, Italian usufrutto, usofrutto, Occitan usufrug, Portuguese usufruto, Spanish usufructo.

Words formed from usufruct

Questions about usufruct

What does usufruct mean?
Usufruct means the legal right to use and derive profit or benefit from property that belongs to another person, as long as the property is not damaged.
What is usufruct in Tagalog?
Usufruct in Tagalog is usuprukto. See Usufruct meaning in Tagalog.
How do you use usufruct in a sentence?
Every American college president, it appears, is in duty bound to write and utter at least one book upon the nature, aims and usufructs of the Higher Education.
What part of speech is usufruct?
Usufruct can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce usufruct?
Usufruct is pronounced /ˈjuːz(j)ʊfɹʌkt/ (UK).
What is the plural of usufruct?
The plural of usufruct is usufructs.

Words near usufruct in the dictionary

  1. usucaption
  2. usucaptions
  3. usucaptor
  4. usucaptors
  5. usucapts
  6. usufruct
  7. usufructed
  8. usufructing
  9. usufruction
  10. usufructs
  11. usufructuaries

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: usufruct (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-usufruct.ogg.

Cite this entry: “usufruct.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/usufruct. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.