foreclose

American  

[fawr-klohz, fohr-] / fɔrˈkloʊz, foʊr- /

verb (used with object)

• forecloses,
  present (3rd person singular)
• foreclosed,
  past participle,  past
• foreclosing
  present participle

1. Law.

   1. to deprive (a mortgagor or pledgor) of the right to redeem their property, especially on failure to make payment on a mortgage when due, ownership of property then passing to the mortgagee.

   2. to take away the right to redeem (a mortgage or pledge).

2. to shut out; exclude; bar.

3. to hinder or prevent, as from doing something.

4. to establish an exclusive claim to.

5. to close, settle, or answer beforehand.

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verb (used without object)

• forecloses,
  present (3rd person singular)
• foreclosed,
  past participle,  past
• foreclosing
  present participle

1. to take away the right to redeem a mortgage or pledge.

foreclose British  

/ fɔːˈkləʊz /

verb

1. law to deprive (a mortgagor, etc) of the right to redeem (a mortgage or pledge)

2. (tr) to shut out; bar

3. (tr) to prevent or hinder

4. (tr) to answer or settle (an obligation, promise, etc) in advance

5. (tr) to make an exclusive claim to

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• foreclosure
  noun
• foreclosable
  adjective
• nonforeclosing
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• foreclosing
  present
• foreclosed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• foreclose
  simple
• forecloses
  simple
• have foreclosed
  perfect
• has foreclosed
  perfect
• am foreclosing
  progressive
• are foreclosing
  progressive
• is foreclosing
  progressive
• have been foreclosing
  perfect progressive
• has been foreclosing
  perfect progressive

Past

• foreclosed
  simple
• had foreclosed
  perfect
• was foreclosing
  progressive
• were foreclosing
  progressive
• had been foreclosing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will foreclose
  simple
• will have foreclosed
  perfect
• will be foreclosing
  progressive
• will have been foreclosing
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of foreclose

First recorded 1250–1300; Middle English foreclosen from Old French forclos, past participle of forclore “to exclude,” equivalent to for- “out” + clore “to shut” (from Latin claudere )

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Explanation

To foreclose is to prevent something from happening. If you want to foreclose any possibility of getting in a car accident, you should travel by train instead. Foreclose comes from the Old French forclore, "exclude or shut out," which led to its sense of "bar from happening," and also the legal meaning, "bar someone from redeeming a mortgage." If a bank forecloses on a property, they take it away from the person who lives there. This typically happens once the homeowner has missed several payments on their mortgage, the money they owe after borrowing from the bank.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

foreclose forecloses foreclosed foreclosing

HOAs in many states can foreclose over unpaid dues even if the homeowner’s mortgage is up-to-date.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026

Not only does it create a lien against your home, but your relative could potentially foreclose on the property.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026

Pinnacle filed for bankruptcy last year after Flagstar moved to foreclose on the portfolio.

From Barron's ● Jan. 8, 2026

Findley, 54, used several aliases to pose as the bogus lender, and threatened to foreclose on Graceland and auction the compound – unless the Presley family settled the claim for $2.85m.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2025

Hospital bills arrived daily; the uninsured roofer had sent a lawyer after them, as had Grover, who stood ready to foreclose.

From "Typical American" by Gish Jen

If the U.S. legally forecloses this question while other nations leave it open, we risk being strategically blindsided.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 25, 2025

"There is an adequate state ground for the prosecution and that forecloses Supreme Court jurisdiction on that issue," Peck said.

From Salon ● Jun. 3, 2024

In “Class,” however, that anger forecloses the greatest gift of the memoir genre, which is self-reflection.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2023

“This Court’s longstanding precedent forecloses applicants’ attempt to have the courts look behind the request’s stated legislative purpose to the subjective motives of individual legislators,” she wrote.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 22, 2022

“The bank forecloses on people’s farms and throws them off their land, and they don’t even appreciate it.”

From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck

He shows her ideas taking shape at desks where classifications opened or foreclosed futures, within organizations charged with apportioning the remnants of an inheritance among the living.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

That case, Gorsuch reasoned, was on point here: It foreclosed Flowers’ rule that workers needed to cross state lines or interact with vehicles traveling across borders to engage in interstate commerce.

From Slate ● Jun. 3, 2026

Colony Ridge foreclosed on one of the lots in 2021, according to Sanchez, who disputes the developer’s claims that she had missed loan payments.

From Salon ● Apr. 12, 2026

Virginia does not have a “right of redemption,” so homeowners are generally not permitted to repurchase the foreclosed property.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 7, 2026

They’d have him disbarred; Bud Gleason would no doubt see that Hirsshorn foreclosed on his house.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

"At the same time, the warning could be interpreted as stopping short of completely foreclosing inter-Korean dialogue: essentially telling Seoul not to interfere unless it has something substantial to offer."

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

That approach could produce a formally narrow decision that nevertheless risks foreclosing meaningful relief for transgender individuals whose discrimination claims would otherwise warrant serious judicial consideration.

From Slate ● Jan. 14, 2026

Isabella County, in which the court will examine whether government has the right to keep value beyond what is owed in taxes after foreclosing on a home.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 10, 2025

“You’ve exploited it, you’ve benefited from these resources and now you are basically foreclosing the opportunity for others to go and exploit,” he said, referring to wealthier countries.

From New York Times ● Mar. 4, 2023

At such times, he thought uneasily of the possibility of foreclosing the mortgage on the old Jacobs house, selling the house, and reinvesting the money in a more advantageous way.

From Mercy Philbrick's Choice by Helen Hunt Jackson

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