Definition

Noun 1. Personal belongings or possessions: Items owned by a person, especially those that are portable and of a personal nature, such as clothing, toiletries, or small keepsakes. This sense often implies items left behind or remaining after a person has departed. 2. The result or consequence of an action or cause: This is the primary and most common meaning of "effects," referring to the changes, outcomes, or impacts produced by something. (Note: This meaning is listed for completeness as it is the core meaning of the word "effect," but the provided context specifically requests the definition related to personal property.)

Usage Examples

• Noun (Personal Belongings):
  • The hotel stored the guest's effects after he checked out.
  • Soldiers must pack all their personal effects before deployment.
  • The police inventoried the effects found at the scene.

Advanced Usage

• "Personal effects": This is a very common collocation that explicitly specifies the type of belongings, emphasizing their private, non-commercial nature.
  • The will stated that her jewelry and other personal effects should go to her daughter.
• "Worldly effects": A more literary phrase referring to all of a person's material possessions.
  • He donated all his worldly effects to charity.

Variants and Related Words

• Effect (noun): The result or consequence of an action. (e.g., )
• Effect (verb): To cause something to happen; to bring about. (e.g., )
• Effective (adjective): Successful in producing a desired result. (e.g., )

Synonyms

• Belongings
• Possessions
• Property (when referring to personal, movable items)
• Things
• Gear (informal, especially for specific activities like travel or sports)

Antonyms

• Real estate (immovable property, as opposed to portable effects)

Noun

1. property of a personal character that is portable but not used in business
   • she left some of her personal effects in the house
   • I watched over their effects until they returned