How to Use personal effects in a Sentence

personal effects

plural noun
  • In it were her kimono, a dress and some other personal effects.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Jan. 2023
  • Also found was a gym bag with personal effects and three cellphones.
    — Time, 24 Mar. 2018
  • The victim's friends were able to traipse through the crime scene to collect personal effects.
    — Keith Sharon, Nashville Tennessean, 7 Oct. 2025
  • This has been a good year so far for recovery of personal effects and remains.
    — Loren Holmes, Anchorage Daily News, 20 June 2018
  • Rescuers found a large debris field of splintered wood and personal effects.
    — John Bacon, USA TODAY, 3 May 2021
  • Her personal effects, including her purse and wallet, were in the home.
    — Kerry Breen, CBS News, 12 Mar. 2025
  • Most of Roy’s personal effects were gone from the residence.
    — Sarah Dahlberg, NBC news, 13 May 2026
  • This would explain why Rebecca had his personal effects with her in the car after the fire.
    — Kayleigh Roberts, Harper's BAZAAR, 3 Feb. 2018
  • Half the canvas is littered with shoes heaped in a way that evokes the piles of personal effects found at concentration camps.
    — Lily Meyer, The Atlantic, 24 May 2022
  • One of the few privileges of being a woman is the right to travel with all manner of personal effects.
    — Rebecca Malinsky and Lauren Mechling, WSJ, 19 Apr. 2018
  • Only the bodies and personal effects such as backpacks have been removed from the building.
    — Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 4 Aug. 2022
  • Their personal effects were stored away by the time phones started buzzing with word of cancellations elsewhere.
    — USA Today, 11 Mar. 2021
  • Others spent months scouring the river for personal effects.
    — Gary Fields, Chicago Tribune, 30 Jan. 2026
  • Larry’s job is to go through the gear and personal effects of dead Marines before they are passed on to their families.
    — Matt Thompson, Spin, 10 Sep. 2023
  • But in risky areas, personal effects—phones in particular—may stay behind on the ship.
    — Cory Graff, Popular Mechanics, 18 Apr. 2021
  • His new laptop had been stolen, along with an Apple Watch and other personal effects.
    — Sharyn Jackson, Star Tribune, 18 Sep. 2020
  • The man put his personal effects on the ground, and Cherry took the man's phone and ran off, prosecutors said.
    — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
  • Prisoners were ordered to sort through the clothes and personal effects of soldiers who had been killed on the battlefield.
    — Tribune News Service, oregonlive, 12 Feb. 2022
  • Prisoners were ordered to sort through the clothes and personal effects of soldiers who had been killed on the battlefield.
    — Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2022
  • Prisoners were ordered to sort through the clothes and personal effects of soldiers who had been killed on the battlefield.
    — Nathan Solis, Anchorage Daily News, 13 Feb. 2022
  • There are a bunch of streamers that have many more personal effects in their stream spaces, but still keep a cohesive aesthetic.
    — Jasmine Heyward, Wired, 18 Feb. 2021
  • Torres goes on the attack, criticizing her for the lack of personal effects in her office.
    — Sara Netzley, EW.com, 4 Oct. 2022
  • The shelf down below, meanwhile, holds four baskets – one for each occupant's clothes and personal effects.
    — New Atlas, 26 Mar. 2026
  • The book takes a look at the politics and the personal effects of global immigration.
    — Michael Schaub, Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2019
  • Richardson also knows the very personal effects of Alzheimer's on a family.
    — Linda Gandee/special To Cleveland.com, cleveland.com, 14 May 2018
  • The Berg family was able to remove much of its furniture and personal effects.
    — Contributed Content, Twin Cities, 7 Feb. 2025
  • The remains and personal effects were in good condition, likely due to the glacier, Quintana said.
    — Mark Thiessen, Star Tribune, 29 June 2021
  • The remains and personal effects were in good condition, likely due to the glacier, Quintana said.
    — Mark Thiessen, Anchorage Daily News, 30 June 2021
  • The pictures, and a few other personal effects that somehow managed to survive the collapse, were at least something.
    — New York Times, 28 June 2021
  • Its pews are gone; in their place stand rows and rows of clothing and personal effects which belonged to the people massacred here 28 years ago.
    — CNN, 22 June 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'personal effects.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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