foreclosure

F4O1R1E1C3L1O1S1U1R1E1
/fɔːɹˈkləʊʒ.əɹ/

noun

The proceeding, by a creditor, to regain property or other collateral following a default on mortgage payments.

CommonScrabble 16
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounforeclosure (countable and uncountable, plural foreclosures)

plural foreclosures

  1. countableuncountablelawThe proceeding, by a creditor, to regain property or other collateral following a default on mortgage payments.
  2. countableuncountablehuman sciencesThe absence of a symbolic father for a fatherless child, as a cause for psychosis.

Origin

From foreclose by analogy with closure, equivalent to fore- + closure.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian възбрана
  • възбрана (văzbrana)proceeding by a creditor
Chinese Mandarin 終止回贖權 /终止回赎权
  • 終止回贖權 /终止回赎权 (zhōngzhǐ huíshúquán)proceeding by a creditor
Danish eksekution, tvangsfuldbyrdelse
  • eksekutionproceeding by a creditor
  • tvangsfuldbyrdelseproceeding by a creditor
Dutch executoriale verkoop, executie
  • executoriale verkoopproceeding by a creditor
  • executieproceeding by a creditor
Esperanto sekvestrado
  • sekvestradoproceeding by a creditor
Finnish ulosmittaus, ulosotto
  • ulosmittausproceeding by a creditor
  • ulosottoproceeding by a creditor
French saisie d'hypothèque, saisie immobilière
  • saisie d'hypothèqueproceeding by a creditor
  • saisie immobilièreproceeding by a creditor
  • saisieproceeding by a creditor
German Zwangsvollstreckung, Pfändung
  • Zwangsvollstreckungproceeding by a creditor
  • Pfändungproceeding by a creditor
Greek κατάσχεση
  • κατάσχεση (katáschesi)proceeding by a creditor
Hungarian zálogjog/jelzálog érvényesítése (ingatlanon), lefoglalás
  • zálogjog/jelzálog érvényesítése (ingatlanon)proceeding by a creditor
  • lefoglalásproceeding by a creditor
  • zár alá vételproceeding by a creditor
  • végrehajtásproceeding by a creditor
Icelandic aðför, aðfarargerð
  • aðförproceeding by a creditor
  • aðfarargerðproceeding by a creditor
Italian pignoramento
  • pignoramentoproceeding by a creditor
Māori taumanutanga
  • taumanutangaproceeding by a creditor
Norwegian Bokmål tvangsfullbyrdelse
  • tvangsfullbyrdelseproceeding by a creditor
Polish zajęcie, przejęcie
  • zajęcieproceeding by a creditor
  • przejęcieproceeding by a creditor
Portuguese execução
  • execuçãoproceeding by a creditor
Russian лишение права выкупа залоговой
  • лишение права выкупа залоговой (lišenije prava vykupa zalogovoj)proceeding by a creditor
Spanish embargo, ejecución de hipoteca
  • embargoproceeding by a creditor
  • ejecución de hipotecaproceeding by a creditor
  • acción hipotecariaproceeding by a creditor
Swedish utmätning, exekution
  • utmätningproceeding by a creditor
  • exekutionproceeding by a creditor
Tagalog pagsamsam ng nakasangla
  • pagsamsam ng nakasanglaproceeding by a creditor
Cite this entry
APA

foreclosure. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/foreclosure

MLA

“foreclosure.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/foreclosure. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “foreclosure,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/foreclosure.

Source: foreclosure on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.