foreclosure
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of foreclosure
Explanation
When a homeowner can't afford to pay her mortgage, she might face foreclosure, which is when a bank repossesses a borrower's house. A bank most often starts foreclosure proceedings against someone who's taken out a loan to buy a house when that person stops making monthly payments. The agreement a borrower makes when she gets a bank mortgage is that she'll pay a certain amount of money every month, and failing to do it means risking foreclosure. The word foreclosure comes from the Latin words fors, "out," and clore "to shut."
Vocabulary lists containing foreclosure
Case Closed: Clud, Clus
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American History II
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The Great Depression and The New Deal
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Foreclosure filings on U.S. properties rose by 14% to 367,460 last year, after increasing just 3% the previous year, according to the Attom U.S.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 7, 2026
Foreclosure looms for Nile Niami’s infamous mega-mansion ‘The One’
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 11, 2021
Foreclosure risk jumped most when students came from middle-income households, but surprisingly, even an increase in college attendance among top-earning households would lead to elevated foreclosures.
From Washington Post • Aug. 6, 2018
During his first term as president, Barack Obama signed a piece of legislation into law known as the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009.
From Encyclopedia.com • Jun. 26, 2018
Foreclosure and sale were a perennial source of profit to him.
From Darrel of the Blessed Isles by Bacheller, Irving
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
