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.
Friday's decision "is solely to foreclose the death penalty as an available punishment to be considered by the jury," Judge Margaret Garnett wrote in her opinion.
From Barron's • Jan. 30, 2026
But circumstances can change, and a permanent prohibition against Ukrainian membership would foreclose a step that may become necessary.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 25, 2025
In their mutually reinforcing preparations to annihilate one another, erase the past and foreclose the possibility of future generations, he concluded, “the superpowers have dutifully embraced this legacy…Adolf Hitler lives on.”
From Salon • Aug. 14, 2025
If the Journal’s reporting is accurate, for example, that would also foreclose any liability.
From Slate • Jul. 23, 2025
“Certain items supposedly from the estate of President and Mrs. Abraham Lincoln have surfaced in a house the bank is forced to foreclose on. Do you grasp what this could mean, Mrs. Dowdel?”
From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck
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.
