forgery

American  

[fawr-juh-ree, fohr-] / ˈfɔr dʒə ri, ˈfoʊr- /

noun

• forgeries
  plural

1. 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.

2. the production of a spurious work that is claimed to be genuine, as a coin, a painting, or the like.

3. something, as a coin, a work of art, or a writing, produced by forgery.

4. an act of producing something forged.

5. Archaic. invention; artifice.

---

forgery British  

/ ˈfɔːdʒərɪ /

noun

1. the act of reproducing something for a deceitful or fraudulent purpose

2. something forged, such as a work of art or an antique

3. criminal law

   1. 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

   2. something forged

4. criminal law the counterfeiting of a seal or die with intention to defraud

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• forgeries
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of forgery

First recorded in 1565–75; forge ¹ + -ery

---

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

forgery forgeries

In May 2025, a grand jury indicted Owens on one count of fraudulent schemes, one count of forgery, four counts of perjury and one count of tampering with physical evidence in Echard’s case.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026

Now, the family is suing more than a half-dozen individuals and companies across Florida, Philadelphia and Peru, whom they claim served as “suppliers, fake authenticators and distributors” in an elaborate and far-reaching forgery scheme.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026

"The forgery does not have to look convincing on its own. It inherits the credibility of the map it was born on," van Ess added.

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

"The forgery does not have to look convincing on its own," Van Ess added.

From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026

Perhaps both of them would sue him, Abelman for character defamation and Lew for forgery.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

Bardella, 31, tipped to be prime minister if Le Pen becomes France's president, wrote on X he "formally" rejected the allegations which he described as "crude forgeries", saying he would take legal action against Mediapart.

From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026

Mr. Holland’s information about the sheaves of Wilde forgeries that bedeviled booksellers’ shelves in the 1930s?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

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

Lazarus rose in the ranks of the Los Angeles Police Department, becoming a detective in charge of art forgeries and thefts.

From Seattle Times ● May 21, 2024

I had no papers, and Estraven said that his wouldn’t hold up under any further forgeries.

From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• falsification

---