foreclosure

American  

[fawr-kloh-zher, fohr-] / fɔrˈkloʊ ʒər, foʊr- /

noun

Law.

• foreclosures
  plural

1. the act of foreclosing a mortgage or pledge.

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foreclosure Cultural  

1. A proceeding in which the financer of a mortgage seeks to regain property because the borrower has defaulted on payments.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• antiforeclosure
  noun
• nonforeclosure
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• foreclosures
  plural

Etymology

Origin of foreclosure

First recorded in 1720–30; foreclose + -ure

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

foreclosure foreclosures

Chapter 13 can also be particularly useful for homeowners because it may allow them to keep their home and catch up on missed mortgage payments while being protected from foreclosure.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

The decades-old winery is now facing a foreclosure sale to cover a $37-million outstanding loan, according to the Press Democrat.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

During probate, you, as executor, paid the necessary expenses to avoid tax liens, penalties or possible foreclosure while probate was taking place.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026

County officials said at the time that the foreclosure sale was too good to pass up.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

If we didn't sell our house, the bank would put it in foreclosure.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi

Months later, he signed AB 238, a Harabedian bill that provided for 12 months of mortgage relief and banned late fees, foreclosures and negative reports to credit bureaus for homeowners who receive it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026

We don’t have to live in a world where people profit from tragedy, be it wildfires or a child with cancer, housing foreclosures or weapons manufacturing.

From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026

In around 20 states, HOA liens carry “super priority” status, which can give the HOA legal priority even over the primary mortgage holder, said Stephen Hladik, a North Wales, Pa., lawyer specializing in foreclosures.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026

In Connecticut, residential foreclosures have increased about 34% since 2020 but remain below 2019 levels, according to property-data provider Attom.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

The various bonds you make from those loans will go bad not as the loans go bad but months later, after a lot of tedious foreclosures and bankruptcies and forced sales.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis