1. To force (a person, usu. a tenant), by the seizure and detention of personal property, to perform an obligation (such as paying overdue rent). [Cases: Landlord and Tenant 270. C.J.S. Landlord and Tenant §§ 681, 685–696, 701–711.]
2. To seize (goods) by distress, a legal remedy entitling the rightful owner to recover property wrongfully taken. — Also spelled distrein. — distraint, n.