foreclosure

noun

fore·​clo·​sure (ˌ)fȯr-ˈklō-zhər 

: an act or instance of foreclosing

specifically : a legal proceeding that bars or extinguishes a mortgagor's right of redeeming a mortgaged estate

Examples of foreclosure in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Now, some of those same properties are sitting in foreclosure as the region sees historically low film and TV production levels. — Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2026

The Market Value Analysis measures a neighborhood’s overall housing market health using factors such as sale prices, vacancy, building conditions and foreclosures. — Ira Goldstein, The Conversation, 1 Oct. 2026

Billionaire investor Peter Thiel bought Casa Encantada, the storied 40,000-square-foot Bel-Air estate, for $130 million at a foreclosure auction. — Jack Flemming, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026

Prior housing downturns were leverage events—thin equity, loose underwriting, cascading foreclosures. — Wesley Carpenter, Forbes.com, 29 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1713, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for foreclosure

• nondisclosure
• postexposure
• closure
• crozier
• mosher
• osier
• composure
• cynosure
• disclosure
• enclosure
• exposure
• inclosure

Legal Definition

foreclosure

noun

fore·​clos·​ure fōr-ˈklō-zhər 

1

: a legal proceeding that bars or extinguishes a mortgagor's equity of redemption in mortgaged real property see also deficiency judgment at judgment, redeem, right of redemption, statutory foreclosure, strict foreclosure sense 1

2

: the extinguishment (as under the provisions of Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code) of the rights of a debtor in personal property subject to a security interest by judicial proceedings and especially by judicial sale see also strict foreclosure sense 2