foreclose
Americanverb (used with object)
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Law.
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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.
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to take away the right to redeem (a mortgage or pledge).
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to shut out; exclude; bar.
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to hinder or prevent, as from doing something.
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to establish an exclusive claim to.
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to close, settle, or answer beforehand.
verb (used without object)
verb
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law to deprive (a mortgagor, etc) of the right to redeem (a mortgage or pledge)
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(tr) to shut out; bar
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(tr) to prevent or hinder
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(tr) to answer or settle (an obligation, promise, etc) in advance
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(tr) to make an exclusive claim to
Other Word Forms
- foreclosable adjective
- foreclosure noun
- nonforeclosing adjective
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 )
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.
When the Chargers lost to Houston, it foreclosed on some options for them.
From Los Angeles Times
If the U.S. legally forecloses this question while other nations leave it open, we risk being strategically blindsided.
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.
This does not, of course, foreclose another question: Does the book add anything of additional value—defining the term, loosely, to include perspective and narrative fluency?
But circumstances can change, and a permanent prohibition against Ukrainian membership would foreclose a step that may become necessary.
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.
