landgrab

English

Etymology

From land +‎ grab. Compare Old Norse landnám (“the taking of land”).

Noun

landgrab (plural landgrabs)

1. A landrush.

   Alternative form: land grab

   • 2008 May 19, David Carr, “Geeks Crash a House of Fashion”, in New York Times‎^[1]:

     Of course, every big media company is buying digital properties —— in a landgrab either for audience or bragging rights.

   • 2023 November 4, Madhumita Murgia, Anna Gross, Cristina Criddle, “Summit exposes tensions over AI development despite emollient Chinese tone”, in FT Weekend, page 12:

     One politician present called the US land grab “inevitable”, adding: “AI is the next big thing, and no one is going to roll over and play dead and say, ‘You take over.’ China's not going to let that happen and certainly the US won't”.

Verb

landgrab (third-person singular simple present landgrabs, present participle landgrabbing, simple past and past participle landgrabbed)

1. To acquire land that one does not have a right to possess.
   • 1986, IDOC Internazionale - Volume 17, page 27:

     American, Japanese and European multinational corporations continue to landgrab tens of thousands of hectares of land for their agribusiness and plunder Mindanao's natural resources.

   • 2015, Sister Blandina Segale, At the End of the Santa Fe Trail:

     I am sure this man is not out here to landgrab, but—and one's judgment is suspended—why find him on the plains near Glorieta, with no money and with an inflamed arm caused by two missing fingers on the left hand?

   • 2017, Ty Patterson, Trigger Break:

     Bevcic had landgrabbed territory from the other existing gangs, coming from seemingly nowhere, and had soon been the dominant player in the East Portland area.