forfeit

noun

for·feit | \ ˈfȯr-fət

Definition of forfeit

(Entry 1 of 3)

1 : something forfeited or subject to being forfeited (as for a crime, offense, or neglect of duty) : penalty They were required to pay a forfeit.

2 : forfeiture especially of civil rights

3a : something deposited (as for making a mistake in a game) and then redeemed on payment of a fine

b forfeits plural : a game in which forfeits are exacted

forfeit

verb

forfeited; forfeiting; forfeits

Definition of forfeit (Entry 2 of 3)

transitive verb

1 : to lose or lose the right to especially by some error, offense, or crime

2 : to subject to confiscation as a forfeit also : abandon, give up

forfeit

adjective

Definition of forfeit (Entry 3 of 3)

: forfeited or subject to forfeiture

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Examples of forfeit in a Sentence

Noun

the forfeit for each baseball player involved in the brawl was $5,000

Verb

He forfeited his right to a trial by jury. They didn't have enough players, so they ended up having to forfeit.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Playing against his former team, Watkins lost to Krishnan and Huang by scores of 6-2 and 6-1 respectively, before his forfeit win in the third round. — Matt Szabo, latimes.com, "Sage Hill eases past Newport Harbor in boys’ tennis," 16 Mar. 2018 No other team would play against them, so the Jaycees made their way to the championship courtesy of forfeits. — George Diaz, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Orlando Little League reunion offers perfect pitch of colorblind history," 10 Apr. 2018 When one of the ineligible players participated in a tournament game the result was a forfeit. — Scott Springer, Cincinnati.com, "Springer: Which Greater Cincinnati schools may jump leagues?," 2 Mar. 2018 Five days later, the Rangers' game in Cleveland was cut short and the Rangers were awarded a forfeit win after fans attacked Texas outfielder Jeff Burroughs and the umpires. — Stefan Stevenson, star-telegram, "Watch the Rangers-Indians brawl from 1974 five days before the infamous 10-cent beer night fiasco | Fort Worth Star-Telegram," 21 May 2018 More: Scecina avoids forfeit, but pitcher ruled ineligible after pitch-count violation That '92 season ended at semistate, one game shy of the state championship game. — Joseph Spears, Indianapolis Star, "HS baseball: Scecina's first semistate trip in 26 years hasn't been easy — or without drama," 6 June 2018 One forfeit, March 6 at Taravella, was a 4-2 loss anyway. — David Furones, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Nationally ranked Calvary Christian baseball team forfeits 12 games," 11 Apr. 2018 Some felt the rules violation would result in a Scecina forfeit, but the team was spared. — Zach Horrall, Indianapolis Star, "HS baseball: After pitch-count violation, Scecina's coach sidelines himself in semistate loss," 9 June 2018 Temple College is in the World Series for the third time, and would not even be here if not for a double forfeit in the regional title game. — Richard Rosenblatt, New York Times, "A Baseball Binge With Small-Town Charm," 1 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Because Corbin declined a $17.9 million qualifying offer by Arizona, Washington would forfeit its first-round pick in next June’s amateur draft, No. — Howard Fendrich, The Seattle Times, "AP sources: Corbin, Nats agree on $140M, 6-year contract," 5 Dec. 2018 The team will forfeit its third-round pick in June and will have $500,000 less to spend on signing international free agents as a result of the deal. — Matt Breen, Philly.com, "Source: Phillies to sign Jake Arrieta to multi-year deal, gaining star free-agent pitcher," 11 Mar. 2018 Perez will forfeit 20 percent of his purse to opponent Eric Shelton. — Jay Reddick, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Alex Perez misses weight for UFC in Orlando," 23 Feb. 2018 Media: Sports Illustrated Louisville now must forfeit its third NCAA title, victories and income from 2010-14, when the violations occurred. — Gary B. Graves, Houston Chronicle, "NCAA: Louisville must vacate 2013 basketball title," 20 Feb. 2018 Lawyers and recruiters said that such termination means that Mr. Neumann could have forfeited any earned but not yet vested compensation and any special severance arrangements. — Tatyana Shumsky, WSJ, "New Netflix CFO to Earn Almost Twice as Much as Predecessor," 7 Jan. 2019 To my great surprise, forfeiting some of our security left me with an overwhelming sense of ... balance. — Lauren Oster, Redbook, "A Spontaneous Road Trip With My Husband Changed My Life," 26 June 2018 The Panthers have an OTA practice on Tuesday, and Barner didn’t want to forfeit the $25,000 workout bonus that’s part of his veteran-minimum, $790,000 contract. — Joseph Person, charlotteobserver, "Panthers' Kenjon Barner had 25,001 reasons to skip Eagles' canceled White House visit," 5 June 2018 That means that large Juul shareholders like Tiger Global Management will be paid $1.6 billion in cash, one person said — money that comes off the top of the $12.8 billion that Juul accepted in exchange for forfeiting 35 percent of the company. — Theodore Schleifer, Recode, "In an extraordinary move, Juul is trying to make peace with its investors and employees by paying them more than $4 billion," 21 Dec. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

That cut Lansdowne’s 6-0 lead, that came on a forfeit win at 120, in half. — Craig Clary, baltimoresun.com, "Unbeaten Lansdowne wrestling squad wins final two matches and defeats Franklin," 25 Jan. 2018 Bretli Reyna scored the first pin of the night for South Dade at 120 pounds with Tyler Orta (126) and Joshua Swan (138) winning matches sandwiching a forfeit win for Fleming Island’s Jaquan English. — Brant Parsons, OrlandoSentinel.com, "South Dade takes home inaugural state duals title in 3A," 21 Jan. 2018 The forfeit win will boost Cedar Creek’s playoff chances. — Phil Anastasia, Philly.com, "Breaking: Delsea football forfeits win over Cedar Creek," 21 Sep. 2017 Catonsville’s other victories were a forfeit win by Chase Ritter (113) and a 3-2 decision by sophomore Ewan Hemmis (120) over Desean Hunter. — Craig Clary, baltimoresun.com, "Lansdowne wrestling pins down Southwestern Battle for second straight year," 12 Dec. 2017 Notable: East River made a major leap this week from ninth to sixth after picking up a forfeit win over Timber Creek and beating St. Cloud, which added three points to its playoff average. — J.c. Carnahan, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Final football playoff projections pave way for Sunday announcement show," 1 Nov. 2017 Arkansas claims a forfeit victory in a game that Ole Miss won on the field 13-7 in 1914. — Mark Inabinett, AL.com, "Arkansas at Ole Miss by the numbers: Rebels get new QB again," 28 Oct. 2017 Every win last season was taken away and became a forfeit loss because the team used ineligible players. — Eric Sondheimer, latimes.com, "Los Angeles might be winless, but Jeffrey Martinez still plays for love of the game," 8 Oct. 2017 Cedar Creek is 2-1 on the field, getting a forfeit win over No. — Phil Anastasia, Philly.com, "South Jersey football: Games to watch this weekend," 26 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'forfeit.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

3 Jan 2019

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Time Traveler for forfeit

The first known use of forfeit was in the 14th century

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More Definitions for forfeit

forfeit

noun

English Language Learners Definition of forfeit

(Entry 1 of 3)

: something that is lost or given up as punishment or because of a rule or law

forfeit

verb

English Language Learners Definition of forfeit (Entry 2 of 3)

: to lose or give up (something) as a punishment or because of a rule or law

forfeit

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of forfeit (Entry 3 of 3)

formal : given up or taken away as a punishment or because of a rule or law

See the full definition for forfeit in the English Language Learners Dictionary

forfeit

verb

for·feit | \ ˈfȯr-fət

forfeited; forfeiting

Kids Definition of forfeit

(Entry 1 of 2)

: to lose or lose the right to as punishment for a fault, error, or crime “If we stop now, we'll have to forfeit the match!” said Harry.— J. K. Rowling, Chamber of Secrets

forfeit

noun

Kids Definition of forfeit (Entry 2 of 2)

: something or the right to something lost as punishment for a fault, error, or crime

forfeit

noun

for·feit | \ ˈfȯr-fət

Legal Definition of forfeit

(Entry 1 of 3)

: something forfeited or subject to being forfeited

forfeit

transitive verb

Legal Definition of forfeit (Entry 2 of 3)

1 : to lose or lose the right to by some default, failure, or neglect of obligation or duty or by some offense shall forfeit to the United States…any proceeds which the person obtained, directly or indirectly, from racketeering activity — U.S. Code

2 : to subject to forfeiture it shall be placed in the custody of the Collector, who…shall cause a notice of the seizure and intention to forfeit and sell the same — Morgan v. United States, 107 F. Supp. 501 (1952)