1. to take legal possession of a property when the owner fails to make mortgage payments
Usage: legal term
2. to prevent or exclude something from happening; to rule out
Usage: formal

Examples

• The bank will foreclose on the house if the payments aren’t made.
• Many families lost their homes when lenders began to foreclose during the financial crisis.
• The mortgage company sent a notice that they would foreclose within 30 days.
• Rising property values don’t foreclose the possibility of future market corrections.
• His early mistakes don’t foreclose his chances of success later.
• The new evidence doesn’t foreclose other theories about what happened.