foreclosure

noun

fore·​clo·​sure (ˌ)fȯr-ˈklō-zhər How to pronounce foreclosure (audio)
: 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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
By the time the property went into foreclosure in 2013, its physical decline mirrored its troubled history. Amber Corrine, VIBE.com, 14 Oct. 2025 At the same time, residents have endured a tax foreclosure crisis and, decades before that, the city of Detroit was redlined, a practice by government appraisers that led to neighborhood segregation, disinvestment and stripped Black people of home ownership opportunities. Nushrat Rahman, Freep.com, 14 Oct. 2025 The building opened in 1927 and then the Great Depression hit, membership declined, and the club went into foreclosure. Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 14 Oct. 2025 The Hogsett administration is planning to give the development group an $18 million bridge loan to help the firm avoid foreclosure and finish the Gold Building project. IndyStar, 13 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for foreclosure

Word History

First Known Use

1713, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of foreclosure was in 1713

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Foreclosure.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/foreclosure. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.

Legal Definition

foreclosure

noun
fore·​clos·​ure fōr-ˈklō-zhər How to pronounce foreclosure (audio)
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

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