foreclosure

American  

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

noun

Law.

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

• antiforeclosure noun
• nonforeclosure noun

Etymology

Origin of foreclosure

First recorded in 1720–30; foreclose + -ure

Example Sentences

Allowing the timeshare to fall into foreclosure could be a long, expensive process.

From MarketWatch

I used my savings to buy a piece of land when it went into foreclosure, and I built our house, acting as the general contractor during the 2008 downturn.

From MarketWatch

I have a friend and family member who lost their home to foreclosure.

From MarketWatch

The top reasons for taking hardship withdrawals last year were avoiding foreclosure and eviction, and paying medical expenses, according to Vanguard.

From The Wall Street Journal

The low number of sales was “continuing off this new housing crisis—not the foreclosure housing crisis—but the housing crisis of where people are unable to get into the housing market,” Yun said.

From Barron's