forfeit

play

noun for·feit \ ˈfȯr-fət \

Definition of forfeit

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

3 a :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

See forfeit defined for English-language learners

See forfeit defined for kids

Examples of forfeit in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of forfeit from the Web

There were also lots of forfeits because of ineligible players.

— eric sondheimer, latimes.com, "Issues facing prep football in 2017: forfeits, star backups, dwindling participation, drones, live streaming," 24 Aug. 2017
It was also overshadowed by forfeits from five of the six Cascade Conference opponents due to doubts regarding player safety.

— jayda evans, The Seattle Times, "Cascade Conference Preview: Kyler Gordon, Archbishop Murphy hope to dance their way back to the Tacoma Dome," 23 Aug. 2017
Any portion of prize not used by winner is forfeit and no cash substitute will be offered or permitted.

— courant.com, "Amazon Gift Card Subscription Promotion - Official Sweepstakes Rules," 20 Aug. 2017
Outlook: The Crusaders hope to bounce back from a season in which their only victory came by forfeit.

— mark stewart, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Prep football preview: Lightning expected to strike again in the Midwest Classic," 18 Aug. 2017
Ball recently pulled his entire team off the court during an AAU game after disagreeing with a call, resulting in a forfeit.

— stanley kay, SI.com, "Referee Replaced Mid-Game After Giving LaVar Ball Technical Foul," 28 July 2017
With all the forfeits, Tyler's record when he was finally fired was 21-44-2 overall (.328) and 7-30 in the SEC (.189).

— ron higgins, NOLA.com, "The worst football coach ever at each SEC school and who replaced them," 19 July 2017
Thanks to French Guiana's forfeit, which, by rule, gave Honduras a 3-0 win (despite them playing to a 0-0 draw), the Central American side has new life.

— avi creditor, SI.com, "Gold Cup quarterfinal power rankings: Roster swaps, matchups alter pecking order," 18 July 2017
FIFA put in place its own plan to stop offensive chants at the recent Confederations Cup, even threatening teams with forfeits.

— filip bondy, New York Times, "Pleas to End Offensive Chant Fall on Deaf Ears in Stands at Gold Cup," 12 July 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.

Origin and Etymology of forfeit

Middle English forfait, from Anglo-French, from past participle of forfaire, forsfaire to commit a crime, forfeit, from fors outside (from Latin foris) + faire to do, from Latin facere — more at forum, do

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

forfeit Synonyms

Synonyms

damages, fine, forfeiture, mulct, penalty

Related Words

reparations; assessment, award, compensation; indemnity

forfeit

verb

Definition of forfeit

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

—

forfeitable

play \ˈfȯr-fə-tə-bəl\ adjective

—

forfeiter

noun

See forfeit defined for English-language learners

Examples of forfeit in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of forfeit from the Web

Buncich forfeited his office as the county's top law enforcement officer once the jury rendered a verdict, as outlined in state law, said James Wieser, chairman of the Lake County Democratic Central Committee.

— becky jacobs, Post-Tribune, "Defense will 'absolutely' appeal Buncich's conviction, attorney says," 26 Aug. 2017
The Raptor melds similarly menacing looks and dominating off-road performance without forfeiting day-to-day practicality.

— eric stafford, Car and Driver, "2017 Ford F-150 Raptor," 26 Aug. 2017
His contract also entitles him to a $5.5 million cash sign-on bonus and equity grants valued at $10.5 million meant to replace compensation from his former employer that was forfeited.

— lisa wolfson, chicagotribune.com, "Macy's names eBay alum president, announces layoffs," 22 Aug. 2017
Their critics see in all this a kind of Jacobinism in which the presumption of innocence is forfeited and the objective is not so much to apply the law as to undertake a crusade to rid Brazil of its political class.

— The Economist, "BelloThe conviction of Lula and the future of Brazil’s political purge," 15 July 2017
Louisville still appears to be pursuing a four-man class, though the NCAA ruling, which U of L appealed, does call for forfeiting four scholarships over the next four seasons.

— jeff greer, The Courier-Journal, "Louisville basketball | 8 questions for the Cards as they start key recruiting stretch," 12 July 2017
By Wednesday, federal prosecutors announced that Hobby Lobby would be forfeiting the artifacts and paying a $3 million fine in the process.

— gabriella paiella and jessica roy, The Cut, "This Week in Drama: Hobby Lobby Bought Smuggled Iraqi Artifacts, Chris Christie Went to the Beach, and Lena Dunham’s Abandoned-Dog Saga Continues," 7 July 2017
In addition to paying a $3 million fine, the Justice Department stipulated that Hobby Lobby would forfeit the objects.

— robert newhouse, Teen Vogue, "A Black Deliveryman Hasn’t Been Able To Return To Work After Being Given a Homemade Noose By a Butcher," 6 July 2017
Television audiences have watched time and time again as flawed middle-aged male characters forfeit their comfortable family lives in favor of the dangers and demons tempting them from the shadows.

— julie miller, VanityFair.com, "The Story Behind Gypsy, Netflix’s New Psychosexual Drama Starring Naomi Watts," 30 June 2017

Origin and Etymology of forfeit

see ¹forfeit

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

forfeit

adjective

Definition of forfeit

:forfeited or subject to forfeiture

See forfeit defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of forfeit from the Web

Nazareth also won by forfeit Friday, as Dunbar was unable to field a team.

— rich mayor, chicagotribune.com, "West suburban football roundup: Lyons topples Sandburg in opener," 28 Aug. 2017
The Bulldogs (16-14 with 10 forfeit losses) never got closer than eight in the second half, and the Spartans put them away with a 9-3 burst for a 64-47 advantage with four minutes to play.

— tim tuttle, Orange County Register, "Franklins help Villa Park earn trip to finals," 27 Feb. 2017
Reilly, ranked No. 6 in CCS at 138 pounds, claimed a forfeit win in his last match to nail third place in his weight class; Banas,

— dick sparrer, The Mercury News, "Almaden: Amaro, Woo, Bayley are Root Classic champions," 26 Jan. 2017
After a pair of forfeit victories to start the match, Kennedy earned three wins by fall, by Sydney Spradley (111), Arianna Gonzalez (121) and Destiny Gonzalez (126), and a 7-2 decision for Cameryn Hulbert to take a 33-0 lead.

— damian calhoun, Orange County Register, "Kennedy girls wrap up Empire title," 25 Jan. 2017

Origin and Etymology of forfeit

see ¹forfeit

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

FORFEIT Defined for English Language Learners

forfeit

play

noun

Definition of forfeit for English Language Learners

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

forfeit

verb

Definition of forfeit for English Language Learners

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

forfeit

adjective

Definition of forfeit for English Language Learners

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

FORFEIT Defined for Kids

forfeit

play

verb for·feit \ ˈfȯr-fət \

Definition of forfeit for Students

forfeited; forfeiting

: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

Definition of forfeit for Students

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

Law Dictionary

forfeit

play

noun for·feit \ ˈfȯr-fət \

legal Definition of forfeit

:something forfeited or subject to being forfeited

Origin and Etymology of forfeit

Anglo-French, from Middle French forfait, past participle of forfaire to commit a crime, from fors outside + faire to do

forfeit

transitive verb

legal Definition of forfeit

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)

—

forfeitability

\ˌfȯr-fə-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē\ noun

—

forfeitable

adjective

forfeit

adjective

legal Definition of forfeit

:forfeited or subject to forfeiture

Learn More about forfeit

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for forfeit Spanish Central: Translation of forfeit Nglish: Translation of forfeit for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of forfeit for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about forfeit

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up forfeit? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

forfeit

Definition of forfeit

Indulge Your Inner Word Nerd

Examples of forfeit in a Sentence

Recent Examples of forfeit from the Web

Origin and Etymology of forfeit

forfeit Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

forfeit

Definition of forfeit

forfeitable

forfeiter

Examples of forfeit in a Sentence

Recent Examples of forfeit from the Web

Origin and Etymology of forfeit

forfeit

Definition of forfeit

Recent Examples of forfeit from the Web

Origin and Etymology of forfeit

Phrases Related to FORFEIT

Related Phrases

FORFEIT Defined for English Language Learners

forfeit

Definition of forfeit for English Language Learners

forfeit

Definition of forfeit for English Language Learners

forfeit

Definition of forfeit for English Language Learners

FORFEIT Defined for Kids

forfeit

Definition of forfeit for Students

forfeit

Definition of forfeit for Students

Law Dictionary

forfeit

legal Definition of forfeit

Origin and Etymology of forfeit

forfeit

legal Definition of forfeit

forfeitability

forfeitable

forfeit

legal Definition of forfeit

Learn More about forfeit

Seen and Heard

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games

'So Long': A Common But Mysterious Goodbye

9 Slang Words With Academic Origins

Trending: 'Bodega' Startup Draws Criticism, Mockery

Challenging Vocabulary Quiz Returns!

Words of the Year: 1066