real estate
4 synonyms and 2 antonyms for real estate, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — Land together with any buildings, fixtures and natural resources attached to it, treated as property that can be owned, bought and sold.
Synonyms
Everyday swaps
Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
realty
real property
Antonyms
personal property
chattels
How to use real estate
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
commercial real estate
real estate agent
real estate market
screen real estate
Standard in American English; the figurative sense is informal but very common in tech and marketing.
Etymology
'Real' here is the legal sense from Latin realis, relating to things (Latin res) rather than to persons — property in a thing, as opposed to personal property.
Full origin of real estate →Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between real estate and real property?
Real estate is the physical land and everything permanently attached to it. Real property is real estate plus the legal rights that come with owning it — the rights to use, lease, sell and exclude others. In everyday speech the two are used interchangeably.
What is the British term for real estate?
British English generally says "property", and an American real estate agent is an estate agent. "Real estate" is understood in the UK but sounds American outside finance and investment contexts.
What does "screen real estate" mean?
It means the usable display space on a device. Designers speak of it as scarce and valuable, exactly like land, so an element that takes too much room is said to be expensive in screen real estate.
