Taking - Definition and Overview

A taking is an action by a government depriving a person of private property without the payment of just compensation. A government could effect this taking in several ways including:

• physically occupying it and preventing others to enter upon it;
• exercising the power of eminent domain; and
• regulating its use to such a degree that no longer has any economically viable use (a regulatory taking).

In the United States, takings are forbidden by the Fifth Amendment.