forfeiture
Americannoun
-
something forfeited
-
the act of forfeiting or paying a penalty
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of forfeiture
1300–50; Middle English forfeiture, forfeture < Old French. See forfeit, -ure
Explanation
Forfeiture is having to give something up, usually as a punishment. If kindergartners yell and run around instead of sitting quietly at their desks, it might result in a forfeiture of recess that day. When you forfeit something, you lose or relinquish it as a penalty for doing something wrong. An instance of this happening is a forfeiture, and you can describe the thing you have to sacrifice as a forfeiture too. In law, a forfeiture is the loss of rights or goods due to not fulfilling some obligation. For example, failing to make car payments to a bank can result in the forfeiture of your car.
Vocabulary lists containing forfeiture
The Constitution of the United States
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Stamp Act (1765)
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The Merchant of Venice
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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.
See Examples For:
Most forfeiture targets have none of those advantages, which is why the overwhelming majority of forfeitures are never contested at all.
From Slate ● Jul. 28, 2026
At a packed New York courtroom, the white-haired Zambada cut a frail figure as he was sentenced to life in prison and ordered to pay a $15 billion forfeiture.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
The judge also entered a $15 billion forfeiture order.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
Alibaba agreed to pay $325 million to the government in fines and forfeiture.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
Fischer lodged a formal protest less than six hours after the forfeiture.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Most forfeiture targets have none of those advantages, which is why the overwhelming majority of forfeitures are never contested at all.
From Slate ● Jul. 28, 2026
Judge Jay Rakoff also sentenced Rinsch to three years of supervised release, $11m in forfeitures, and a $700 fine.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
The total amount to be paid in fines, forfeitures and penalties surpasses $8 billion.
From Barron's ● Apr. 29, 2026
The government has stated that the forfeitures were aimed at returning more cash to investors, many of whom haven’t gotten any money from their investments in more than 10 years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025
At the time the new rules were adopted, the law governing civil forfeiture was so heavily weighted in favor of the government that fully 80 percent of forfeitures went uncontested.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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.
