personal effects

plural noun

1. privately owned articles consisting chiefly of clothing, toilet items, etc., for intimate use by an individual.

Word History and Origins

Origin of personal effects¹

First recorded in 1835–45

Example Sentences

Her altar-like installations, which draw from her own life as a Californian daughter of Mexican immigrants, command space with a dizzying array of personal effects and mementos.

From New York Times

The artifacts were discovered when a family, who wishes to remain anonymous, came across what appeared to be valuable Asian art in their late father’s personal effects, according the FBI.

From Seattle Times

Morrell said in a Feb. 28 letter to the mayor that “furniture and other personal effects” remained in the unit.

From Seattle Times

Democrats tend to find themselves moving their personal effects into the White House when the economy is in bad shape.

From Salon

And over the past decade, Armstrong has helped repatriate some personal effects that his father had collected from a Japanese pilot who crashed on the Hawaiian island of Ni’ihau.

From Seattle Times