forgery
Americannoun
plural
forgeries-
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.
-
the production of a spurious work that is claimed to be genuine, as a coin, a painting, or the like.
-
something, as a coin, a work of art, or a writing, produced by forgery.
-
Archaic. invention; artifice.
noun
-
the act of reproducing something for a deceitful or fraudulent purpose
-
something forged, such as a work of art or an antique
-
criminal law
-
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
-
something forged
-
-
criminal law the counterfeiting of a seal or die with intention to defraud
Etymology
Origin of forgery
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.
The announcement came after Serbian Culture Minister Nikola Selakovic and three others were 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 • Dec. 16, 2025
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
The FBI’s Art Crime team is a highly specialized unit of 20 agents trained in investigation theft, fraud and forgery of artwork as well as cultural-property trafficking.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 29, 2025
The BBC has asked ICE for a response to the family's claim that there is no forgery case against Mr Singh in Illinois.
From BBC • Oct. 13, 2025
“It’s a forgery, and not a very clever one. The thing is typewritten, and there’s no signature or date. That doesn’t seem quite legitimate, does it?”
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
![]()
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.