T. C. DesmondJonathan SpivakDavid Rosengarten
Did you know?
That the word foist is commonly used today to mean “to force another to accept by stealth or deceit” makes sense given its original—now obsolete—use in talking about a bit of literal sleight of hand. When it first rolled into English in the mid-1500s, foist was all about dice, dice, baby, referring to palming—that is, concealing in one’s hand a phony die so as to secretly introduce it into a game at a convenient time. The action involved in this cheating tactic reflects the etymology of foist: the word is believed to have come from the obsolete Dutch verb vuisten, meaning “to take into one’s hand.” Vuisten in turn comes from vuyst, the Middle Dutch word for “fist,” which itself is distantly related to the Old English ancestor of fist. By the late 16th century, foist was being used in English to mean “to insert surreptitiously,” and it quickly acquired the “force to accept” meaning that is most familiar today.
Examples of foist in a Sentence
Erik Shilling, Robb Report, 12 Nov. 2025
But the impacts of the government shutdown at DIA and other major hubs across the country were raising questions about how much pain from the political impasse over health care costs will be foisted on millions of Americans planning holiday travel.
—Bruce Finley, Denver Post, 8 Nov. 2025
But Deza, a lawyer who is considerably savvier than the public defenders that her case was previously foisted upon, takes an interest in the injustice and agrees to represent her pro-bono.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 7 Nov. 2025
But the Browns should foist this game squarely on Maye’s shoulders.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for foist
Cite this Entry
“Foist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/foist. Accessed 17 Nov. 2025.
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foist
verb
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