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
Noun Inflected 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.
See Examples For:
Although he has gone into hiding saying he fears for his life, he has said he will appear in court later this month to answer charges including forgery and impersonation.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
Prosecutors targeted six individuals with charges focused on document forgery and breach of trust, The Wall Street Journal reported External link.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
The Mormon Will, however, received the most thorough scrutiny, enduring a seven-month jury trial and dueling testimonies by forensic experts until it was eventually declared a forgery.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
The firefighters union also will be campaigning in a year when one of its recent leaders, Adam Walker, has been charged with one count each of grand theft and forgery.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026
He spent a year and a half in an orphanage while his father served a jail term for forgery.
From "Twelve Angry Men" by Reginald Rose
The expert concluded that Hsieh’s signatures in the surprise will are forgeries.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 16, 2025
The most common 10-shekel coin is particularly susceptible to rust and wear and tear, and vendors have become suspicious as rumors abound that many of those available in Gaza are forgeries.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 5, 2024
Smith was tried and found guilty the following year for knowingly selling and pawning his forgeries.
From BBC ● Nov. 13, 2023
Those were false written statements and therefore forgeries under the law.
From Slate ● Aug. 15, 2023
The news of what had happened sped round the farm like wildfire.The bank-notes were forgeries!
From "Animal Farm: A Fairy Story" by George Orwell
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.
