foist

American  

[foist] / fɔɪst /

verb (used with object)

• foists,
  present (3rd person singular)
• foisted,
  past participle,  past
• foisting
  present participle

1. to force upon or impose fraudulently or unjustifiably (usually followed by on orupon ).

   to foist inferior merchandise on a customer.

2. to bring, put, or introduce surreptitiously or fraudulently (usually followed by in orinto ).

   to foist political views into a news story.

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foist British  

/ fɔɪst /

verb

1. to sell or pass off (something, esp an inferior article) as genuine, valuable, etc

2. to insert surreptitiously or wrongfully

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unfoisted
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• foisting
  present
• foisted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• foist
  simple
• foists
  simple
• have foisted
  perfect
• has foisted
  perfect
• am foisting
  progressive
• are foisting
  progressive
• is foisting
  progressive
• have been foisting
  perfect progressive
• has been foisting
  perfect progressive

Past

• foisted
  simple
• had foisted
  perfect
• was foisting
  progressive
• were foisting
  progressive
• had been foisting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will foist
  simple
• will have foisted
  perfect
• will be foisting
  progressive
• will have been foisting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of foist

1535–45; < Dutch dialect vuisten, derivative of vuist fist ¹

Explanation

Did your parents foist your baby sister on you when they went out? It means they forced her on you. Anything — a person or object or idea — can be foisted if it's done by force upon an unwilling party. Foist used to imply a degree of deception rather than just brute force, but that's a meaning that's pretty much lost now: if something's foisted upon you, you know about it. The earlier meaning comes from an old Dutch term for palming a loaded die into a game. Today we call that cheating.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

foist foists foisted foisting

In that scenario, Sheinbaum could essentially be washing her hands of the decision and foist it on the ministries.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2026

Instead, lenders and credit firms can foist the costs onto taxpayers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 15, 2026

Second, Marc Rowan, VCs like Peter Thiel, and hedge fund managers like Bill Ackman and Leon Cooperman have been sharply critical of these schools as they work to foist changes in leadership and curriculum.

From Barron's ● Dec. 5, 2025

His ego is so big and so fragile that he forced the Twitter staff to rewrite the algorithm to foist his non-entertaining tweets into people's feeds.

From Salon ● Mar. 14, 2023

The waiter tried to foist Toucinho do Ceu and Mousse de Chocolate on them, but Dimple declined for the both of them.

From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon

Perhaps the Fed’s greatest political liability is its loquacity—the policy statements, economic projections, speeches, press conferences, meeting minutes and the rest that the central bank foists on the public.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026

“Rising Phoenix” is bursting with a glossy visual style courtesy of director of photography Will Pugh, casting the athletes as gods whose speed, strength and finesse shatter preconceptions the world sometimes foists upon them.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2020

Lyle Lanley, voiced by Phil Hartman, is the perfect con-man for Springfield, as he foists on them the disastrous and unnecessary monorail, playing on their desire for oneupmanship over neighbouring Shelbyville.

From The Guardian ● Nov. 28, 2019

Sister network Bravo foists “Housewives of Wherever” on NBC’s “Today” with synergistic zeal, but the best bang “Lockup” has ever received was a segment on “Oprah,” not in the NBC family.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 8, 2011

Rather, it foists itself on the eye of the passerby in a manner that is both irritating and melancholy.

From "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison

Many people told me they feel Flock’s technology has been foisted on them without their consent, in a way that mirrors anxiety over data centers and AI.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

And, “Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz are the two worst things Oprah ever foisted on the public.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

This is a title they have foisted upon themselves.

From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2025

"A lot of the time we're just scared of these apparitions that we've created and these narratives that we've foisted upon other people."

From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2024

It is a term that should never have been foisted on me.

From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez

“The city pressed private property into public service, foisting the cost of its coronavirus response onto housing providers.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2025

But in doing so, the corporations should take responsibility for additional costs, rather than unilaterally foisting them on poorly paid workers.

From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2024

Others warn that foisting another unelected leader on the country might backfire.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 15, 2024

Prior to foisting this mental damage onto a fictional character, Brodesser-Akner's experience delivering her first son was similar to that of her character's.

From Salon ● Jan. 23, 2023

After a breakfast of fatback and grits with lots of butter—Cook foisting a second helping onto Ophie despite her protests—Ophie was sent to take Mrs. Caruthers her morning tray.

From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland