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n. the right to enjoy the benefits of real property or personal property (but primarily used in reference to real property), whether the owner of the right has ownership of title or not. Under English common law "use" of property became extremely important since title to real property could not be conveyed outside a family line due to "restraints on alienation," so "use" of the property was transferred instead. This is a simplification of the way "uses" were employed, but today it is only of academic interest.