to jump a claim
Preserved but no longer current.
An expression from the miners' camps, meaning to seize somebody else's "claim," i.e. his diggings, in his absence and work it oneself; or, to take his mine by force; hence, to annex property by stealing a inarch on the owner.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to jump a claim” mean?
An expression from the miners' camps, meaning to seize somebody else's "claim," i.e. his diggings, in his absence and work it oneself; or, to take his mine by force; hence, to annex property by stealing a inarch on the owner.
Is “to jump a claim” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.