- the act of pledging movable property, stocks, income-generating contracts, etc., to a creditor as security without actual transfer of ownership: The laws of Solon permitted hypothecation but forbade personal slavery for debt.
- the act or practice of designating a specific tax to pay for a specific expenditure: Hypothecation is a dangerous route to go down; if property taxes are used to pay for infrastructure, does that mean those who don’t own property can’t walk on the sidewalks?
