forgery
Americannoun
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the crime of falsely making or altering a writing by which the legal rights or obligations of another person are apparently affected; simulated signing of another person's name to any such writing whether or not it is also the forger's name.
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the production of a spurious work that is claimed to be genuine, as a coin, a painting, or the like.
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something, as a coin, a work of art, or a writing, produced by forgery.
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an act of producing something forged.
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Archaic. invention; artifice.
noun
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the act of reproducing something for a deceitful or fraudulent purpose
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something forged, such as a work of art or an antique
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criminal law
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the false making or altering of any document, such as a cheque or character reference (and including a postage stamp), or any tape or disc on which information is stored, intending that anyone shall accept it as genuine and so act to his or another's prejudice
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something forged
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criminal law the counterfeiting of a seal or die with intention to defraud
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of forgery
Explanation
If you painted a copy of the Mona Lisa and sold it to a museum, claiming it was the original, your painting could be called a forgery, and the crime you've committed is also forgery. Forgery is a legal word describing a white-collar crime that could involve faking a famous painting, making a false passport that claims you're the King of Swaziland, or copying your boss's signature onto a document. Both the crime of forgery and the sense of forge that means "to make" or "to sculpt" come from the Latin root word fabricare, or "fabricate."
Vocabulary lists containing forgery
List 4
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George Washington, Spymaster
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From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
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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.
It is, however, a novel use of her forgery skills, and an assignment she’s too curious to pass up.
From Salon • Apr. 17, 2026
You sense that, to him, forgery is as creatively dull as a factory-issued franchise sequel.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026
The move came after Serbia's culture minister was indicted over alleged abuse of office and forgery of an official document that had allowed the removal of the site's "cultural-heritage status".
From Barron's • Jan. 24, 2026
An Affinity spokesman said the firm had no connection to the alleged forgery and has been reviewing the project.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 15, 2025
This, at all events, is what Ingulf of Croyland used to tell us, until he was discovered to be a forgery.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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.
