Definition of "escheat" [es•cheat]

• Reversion of land held under feudal tenure to the manor in the absence of legal heirs or claimants. (noun)
• Law Reversion of property to the state in the absence of legal heirs or claimants. (noun)
• Law Property that has reverted to the state when no legal heirs or claimants exist. (noun)
• Law To revert or cause to revert by escheat. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Yesterday's term was escheat, which is defined as:"
• "Because of a practice called escheat, however, that assumption could end up turning your financial life upside down."
• "So, they might not get everything they're entitled to, and the unclaimed assets will eventually revert, or "escheat," to the state."