: an action under a civil law system for the enforcement of an obligation which therefore must be brought against the person obligated
2
: an action under the common law not brought for the recovery of or involving rights in lands, tenements, or hereditaments : an action brought to enforce or recover a debt or personal duty or damages in lieu of it or damages for an injury to person or property or for the specific recovery of or enforcement of a lien upon goods or chattels compare real action
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