foreclosure

[ fawr-kloh-zher, fohr- ]

/ fɔrˈkloʊ ʒər, foʊr- /

the act of foreclosing a mortgage or pledge.

Nearby words

First recorded in 1720–30; foreclose + -ure

Related formsan·ti·fore·clo·sure, noun, adjectivenon·fore·clo·sure, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

The house fell into tax delinquency that same year and was flagged for foreclosure this May.
Cleveland Wants to Burn Down Ariel Castro’s House. Should It Be?|Christine Pelisek|May 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST
D.C. has effectively had a foreclosure moratorium since 2010, which has made inventory very tight.
What the Hell is Happening in D.C.?|Megan McArdle|December 21, 2012|DAILY BEAST
By the time the V.A. reversed itself, the family home was in foreclosure.
Number of Veterans Who Die Waiting for Benefits Claims Skyrockets|Aaron Glantz|December 20, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Foreclosure starts, according to the report, were at their lowest level since 2007.
Housing Comeback Continues!|Matthew Zeitlin|November 15, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Five states—Florida, California, New York, New Jersey, and Illinois—make up more than half of the loans in foreclosure.
Housing Comeback Continues!|Matthew Zeitlin|November 15, 2012|DAILY BEAST
She didn't see clearly how she was to marry him unless he asked her, and he had studiously avoided her since the foreclosure.
Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1904|Lucy Maud Montgomery
Equity gives the mortgagee the right to cut off the mortgagor's equity of redemption by foreclosure.
Cyclopedia of Commerce, Accountancy, Business Administration, v. 3|Various
A common example is in case of a foreclosure of a mortgage on a railway.
Cyclopedia of Commerce, Accountancy, Business Administration, v. 3|Various
Meanwhile their ranch here has been saved from loss by foreclosure.
The Pride of Palomar|Peter B. Kyne
The' ain't ben hardly a dozen changes in farm titles, 'cept by inher'tance or foreclosure, in thirty years.
The Christmas Story from David Harum|Edward Noyes Westcott

Word Origin and History for foreclosure

1728, from foreclose + -ure.

Culture definitions for foreclosure

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