Meaning & use
foreclose
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitivefinancelegal
To take back a property that was bought with a loan because the borrower has stopped making the payments.
Grammar: Often followed by on: the bank foreclosed on the house; it can also take an object, as in foreclose a mortgage.
Patterns
- a bank forecloses on something
- foreclose a mortgage
The bank foreclosed on the family's house after months of missed payments.
Lenders may foreclose if the loan is not repaid.
The company threatened to foreclose the mortgage.
verbtransitiveformal
To make something impossible or unavailable by acting early, especially a choice or opportunity.
Grammar: Takes an object such as options or the possibility: the decision foreclosed any chance of peace.
Patterns
- foreclose an option
- foreclose the possibility of something
Signing the contract foreclosed other options for the company.
Her early resignation foreclosed any chance of promotion.
Rising prices foreclosed the possibility of buying a bigger house.
Word forms
| third person singular | forecloses |
|---|---|
| past tense | foreclosed |
| past participle | foreclosed |
| -ing form | foreclosing |
Common combinations
- foreclose on a home
- Banks began to foreclose on homes during the crisis.
- foreclose a mortgage
- The lender moved to foreclose the mortgage.
- foreclose an option
- That decision may foreclose future options.
- foreclose the possibility
- The deal does not foreclose the possibility of talks.
- threaten to foreclose
- The bank threatened to foreclose unless payments resumed.
Synonyms and how they differ
- repossess
- Repossess is wider and also applies to cars or goods, while foreclose is mostly about property and mortgages.
- seize
- Seize is general and can be done without legal process, unlike foreclose.
- rule out
- Rule out fits the figurative sense and is less formal than foreclose.
- preclude
- Preclude is a formal word for making something impossible, and unlike foreclose it has no money meaning.
Opposites
Word family
- foreclosure noun
- the legal process of taking back a property
- foreclosed adjective
- taken back by a lender
- close verb
- to shut or end something
- preclude verb
- to prevent from happening
Commonly confused: foreclose or forclose? foreclose or disclose?
foreclose vs forclose
Forclose is a misspelling; the correct spelling has an e: foreclose.
foreclose vs disclose
Disclose means to reveal information and has nothing to do with taking property.
Practice
If the family stops paying the mortgage, the bank may ___ on the house.
Choose one answer.
A lender taking back a home forecloses on it. Disclose means reveal and enclose means surround, so neither fits.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “foreclose”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.