1
: an act or means of easing or relieving (as from discomfort)
2
: an interest in land owned by another that entitles its holder to a specific limited use or enjoyment
also
: an area of land covered by an easement
Examples of easement in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The plan also includes vacation of a public service easement for a utility line along the southern property boundary that has been abandoned and is no longer in use.
—
Noah Lyons, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Oct. 2025
The majority of the easements for the existing state trail corridor have been acquired.
—Mary Divine, Twin Cities, 27 Oct. 2025
In addition to Hermitage Farm, Laura Lee Brown and Wilson, who also founded the 21c Museum Hotel chain, have put more than 2,400 acres of land in agriculture conservation easements in Oldham County.
—Maggie Menderski, Louisville Courier Journal, 26 Oct. 2025
The documentation of the sale from the church to the school says that the drive appeared to be serving adjacent property without the benefit of an easement.
—Chris Higgins, Kansas City Star, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for easement
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Noah Lyons, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Oct. 2025
The majority of the easements for the existing state trail corridor have been acquired.
—Mary Divine, Twin Cities, 27 Oct. 2025
In addition to Hermitage Farm, Laura Lee Brown and Wilson, who also founded the 21c Museum Hotel chain, have put more than 2,400 acres of land in agriculture conservation easements in Oldham County.
—Maggie Menderski, Louisville Courier Journal, 26 Oct. 2025
The documentation of the sale from the church to the school says that the drive appeared to be serving adjacent property without the benefit of an easement.
—Chris Higgins, Kansas City Star, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for easement
Cite this Entry
“Easement.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/easement. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
easement
noun
ease·ment
ˈēz-mənt 
: an interest in land owned by another that entitles its holder to a specific limited use or enjoyment (as the right to cross the land or have a view continue unobstructed over it) see also dominant estate and servient estate at estate sense 4 compare license, profit sense 2, right-of-way, servitude
—
affirmative easement
: an easement entitling a person to do something affecting the land of another that would constitute trespass or a nuisance if not for the easement compare negative easement in this entry
—
apparent easement
: an easement whose existence is detectable by its outward appearance (as by the presence of a water pipe)
—
appurtenant easement
\
ə-ˈpərt-ᵊn-ənt-
\
: easement appurtenant in this entry
—
common easement
: an easement in which the owner of the land burdened by the easement retains the privilege of sharing the benefits of the easement
called also nonexclusive easement
compare exclusive easement in this entry
—
conservation easement
: an easement granted by a landowner to a public or private entity (as a land trust) in which the landowner agrees to restrictions on use of the land (as from development) and the holder agrees to enforce the restrictions
—
determinable easement
: an easement that will terminate upon the happening of a specific event or contingency
—
easement appurtenant
easements appurtenant
: an easement attached to and benefiting a dominant estate and burdening a servient estate compare easement in gross in this entry
Note: Easements appurtenant run with the land and are therefore passed when the property is transferred.
—
easement by estoppel
: an easement that is created when the conduct of the owner of land leads another to reasonably believe that he or she has an interest in the land so that he or she acts or does not act in reliance on that belief
—
easement by implication
: an easement that is created by operation of law when an owner severs property into two parcels in such a way that an already existing, obvious, and continuous use of one parcel (as for access) is necessary for the reasonable enjoyment of the other parcel
called also easement by necessity, implied easement, way of necessity
—
easement by prescription
: an easement created by the open, notorious, uninterrupted, hostile, and adverse use of another's land for 20 years or for a period set by statute
called also prescriptive easement
—
easement in gross
: an easement that is a personal right of its holder to a use of another's land and that is not dependent on ownership of a dominant estate
called also personal easement
compare easement appurtenant in this entryNote: Utility companies often own easements in gross.
—
exclusive easement
: an easement that the holder has the right to enjoy to the exclusion of all others compare common easement in this entry
—
implied easement
: easement by implication in this entry
—
negative easement
: an easement that entitles the holder to prevent the owner of land from using the land for a purpose or in a way that would otherwise be permitted
—
nonexclusive easement
: common easement in this entry
—
personal easement
: easement in gross in this entry
—
prescriptive easement
: easement by prescription in this entry
—
quasi easement
: the use by the owner of two adjoining parcels of land of one of the parcels to benefit the other
Note: A quasi easement may become an easement upon the transfer of one or both of the parcels.
—
reciprocal negative easement
: an easement created by operation of law and held by the owner of a lot in a residential development that entitles the holder to enforce restrictions that were part of the general development scheme against the developer and subsequent buyers who purchase free of the restrictions
Etymology
Anglo-French esement, literally, benefit, convenience, from Old French aisement, from aisier to ease, assist
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