forge

¹ American  

[fawrj, fohrj] / fɔrdʒ, foʊrdʒ /

verb (used with object)

forged, forging

1. to form by heating and hammering; beat into shape.

2. to form or make, especially by concentrated effort.

   to forge a friendship through mutual trust.

   Synonyms:

   pirate, falsify, fake, counterfeit, build, create, mold, found, cast

3. to imitate (handwriting, a signature, etc.) fraudulently; fabricate a forgery.

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verb (used without object)

forged, forging

1. to commit forgery.

2. to work at a forge.

3. (of a horse at a trot) to strike the forefeet with the shoes of the hind feet.

noun

1. a special fireplace, hearth, or furnace in which metal is heated before shaping.

2. the workshop of a blacksmith; smithy.

forge ² American  

[fawrj, fohrj] / fɔrdʒ, foʊrdʒ /

verb (used without object)

forged, forging

1. to move ahead slowly; progress steadily.

   to forge through dense underbrush.

2. to move ahead with increased speed and effectiveness (usually followed byahead ).

   to forge ahead and finish the work in a burst of energy.

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forge ¹ British  

/ fɔːdʒ /

noun

1. a place in which metal is worked by heating and hammering; smithy

2. a hearth or furnace used for heating metal

3. a machine used to shape metals by hammering

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verb

1. (tr) to shape (metal) by heating and hammering

2. (tr) to form, shape, make, or fashion (objects, articles, etc)

3. (tr) to invent or devise (an agreement, understanding, etc)

4. to make or produce a fraudulent imitation of (a signature, banknote, etc) or to commit forgery

forge ² British  

/ fɔːdʒ /

verb

1. to move at a steady and persevering pace

2. to increase speed; spurt

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Other Word Forms

• forgeable adjective
• forger noun
• reforgeable adjective
• unforgeable adjective

Etymology

Origin of forge¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English forgen, fourgen, from Old French forgier, forger, from Latin fabricāre “to fabricate”; fabric

Origin of forge²

First recorded in 1605–15; origin uncertain

Example Sentences

Grier, who sold her CPA practice a few years ago to become a financial adviser, found that listening attentively enabled her to forge a connection with jittery taxpayers.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 13, 2026

OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman said that the company’s rush to forge a deal with the Defense Department — following a clash between the Pentagon and rival Anthropic PBC — looked “opportunistic and sloppy.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 4, 2026

"To date, no opposition leader has managed to forge the kind of broad-based coalition needed to unify the fragmented opposition landscape," Ali Vaez, Iran Project Director at International Crisis Group, told AFP.

From Barron's • Mar. 4, 2026

The development of more potent submarines would boost Beijing’s bid to forge a world-class oceangoing navy, a key element in Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s ambitious campaign to modernize the armed forces.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 3, 2026

When it tires of one journey, it rubs through some rock to forge a new way.

From "The Rock and the River" by Kekla Magoon

Related Words

• build
• construct
• create
• devise
• form
• hammer out
• shape