foreclosure

[ fawr-kloh-zher, fohr- ]

noun

, Law.

1. the act of foreclosing a mortgage or pledge.

foreclosure

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

Other Words From

• anti·fore·closure noun adjective
• nonfore·closure noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of foreclosure¹

First recorded in 1720–30; foreclose + -ure

Example Sentences

I grew up here and experienced housing insecurity myself—my childhood family home was lost to foreclosure—so I’ve made housing a central focus.

From Time

Another 6 million could risk losing housing in the next two months due to foreclosure.

From Quartz

Under Obama, when you think about the housing and the mortgage foreclosures, really we have to make this a very targeted intervention.

From Freakonomics

Now, with the house heading toward foreclosure on June 30, Myers, who lives in Arizona and is in remission from cancer, said she’s praying for a miracle.

From Washington Post

“Those communities are much more at risk of losing their homes and not being able to get back on track when the foreclosure moratorium and mortgage forbearance ends,” Thompson said.

From Washington Post

The foreclosure-drama is a fascinating study of greed and class warfare, boasting excellent turns by Garfield and Shannon.

From The Daily Beast

On top of that, her home has entered foreclosure because Detroit water bills are rolled into property taxes.

From The Daily Beast

The Silver State is still mired in the housing crisis, with the highest foreclosure rate in the nation.

From The Daily Beast

The house fell into tax delinquency that same year and was flagged for foreclosure this May.

From The Daily Beast

D.C. has effectively had a foreclosure moratorium since 2010, which has made inventory very tight.

From The Daily Beast

The discharge and foreclosure of mortgages on vessels are governed for the most part by the rules that apply to chattel mortgages.

From Project Gutenberg

Would they serve notice of foreclosure, not knowing whether or not we had the receipt in our possession?

From Project Gutenberg

Title had been gained under foreclosure to vast areas which had no value.

From Project Gutenberg

Meanwhile their ranch here has been saved from loss by foreclosure.

From Project Gutenberg

You had to have that ranch, and since you couldn't buy it you decided to acquire it by foreclosure.

From Project Gutenberg