forfeit

American  

[fawr-fit] / ˈfɔr fɪt /

noun

• forfeits
  plural

1. a fine; penalty.

2. an act of forfeiting; forfeiture.

3. something to which the right is lost, as for commission of a crime or misdeed, neglect of duty, or violation of a contract.

4. an article deposited in a game because of a mistake and redeemable by a fine or penalty.

5. (used with a singular verb) forfeits, a game in which such articles are taken from the players.

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verb (used with object)

• forfeits,
  present (3rd person singular)
• forfeited,
  past participle,  past
• forfeiting
  present participle

1. to subject to seizure as a forfeit.

2. to lose or become liable to lose, as in consequence of crime, fault, or breach of engagement.

   Synonyms:

   waive, forgo, relinquish, yield, surrender, mulct

adjective

1. lost or subject to loss by forfeiture.

forfeit British  

/ ˈfɔːfɪt /

noun

1. something lost or given up as a penalty for a fault, mistake, etc

2. the act of losing or surrendering something in this manner

3. law something confiscated as a penalty for an offence, breach of contract, etc

4. (sometimes plural)

   1. a game in which a player has to give up an object, perform a specified action, etc, if he commits a fault

   2. an object so given up

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verb

1. (tr) to lose or be liable to lose in consequence of a mistake, fault, etc

2. (tr) law

   1. to confiscate as punishment

   2. to surrender (something exacted as a penalty)

adjective

1. surrendered or liable to be surrendered as a penalty

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• forfeiter
  noun
• reforfeit
  verb (used with object)
• forfeitable
  adjective
• nonforfeitable
  adjective
• nonforfeiting
  adjective
• unforfeitable
  adjective
• unforfeiting
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• forfeits
  plural

Participles

• forfeiting
  present
• forfeited
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• forfeit
  simple
• forfeits
  simple
• have forfeited
  perfect
• has forfeited
  perfect
• am forfeiting
  progressive
• are forfeiting
  progressive
• is forfeiting
  progressive
• have been forfeiting
  perfect progressive
• has been forfeiting
  perfect progressive

Past

• forfeited
  simple
• had forfeited
  perfect
• was forfeiting
  progressive
• were forfeiting
  progressive
• had been forfeiting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will forfeit
  simple
• will have forfeited
  perfect
• will be forfeiting
  progressive
• will have been forfeiting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of forfeit

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English forfet, from Old French (past participle of forfaire “to commit crime, to lose possession or right through a criminal act”), from Medieval Latin forīs factum “penalty,” past participle of forīs facere “to transgress,” equivalent to Latin forīs “outside, wrongly” + facere “to make, do”

Explanation

Forfeit means to lose or give up something, usually as a penalty. If you don’t finish your homework and eat all your broccoli, you'll most likely forfeit your right to watch TV before going to bed. An adjective, noun, and verb all rolled into one, forfeit came into existence around 1300 meaning “to lose by misconduct.” To forfeit is to lose or give up something as punishment for making an error. A forfeit is what is lost. You've probably heard of forfeiting a game or match — like when you don't show up with enough players or pick one too many fights with the opposing team.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

forfeit forfeits forfeited forfeiting

He negotiated with England skipper Nasser Hussain for both teams to forfeit an innings, leaving the tourists with a final-day run-chase, which they completed.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

The only other Southern Section action would be forcing Inglewood to forfeit games the players played in, but the school lost to Westlake, making a forfeit moot.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

Others will simply have to forfeit all that.

From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2026

The lawsuit asked the court to order Kalshi to halt its operation, make restitution to customers, forfeit all illegal gains and pay fines equal to triple those gains.

From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026

I forfeit the solo to Anna Muller—whom Carissimi could never love—and am moved into the altos.

From "What the Night Sings" by Vesper Stamper

If Warsh goes quiet while his colleagues continue to give economic-outlook speeches, a kind of unilateral disarmament could take hold where the chair forfeits the bully pulpit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026

But a court that tolerates such defiance eventually forfeits the right to demand obedience.

From Slate ● Apr. 23, 2026

Alford responded with a Bible verse from the Gospel of Matthew: “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” according to texts viewed by The Journal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026

Christensen said coaches who participated in the forfeits last year faced repercussions from school district personnel, “but it needed to be done.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2025

“Either your player forfeits the set, or he gets back out there and finishes the game,” Reverend Hollister continued.

From "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson

If Harvey did play, Inglewood should have forfeited its win last season to Midland.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026

A government that will chase its own citizens for taxes incurred in 1999 has forfeited any argument that 1938 is too long ago to matter.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026

The fund has returned more than $13 billion in forfeited assets to victims and their families since 2000, according to the department, which has said paying victims is a priority.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026

It was later confirmed that Menzies was cleared by medics backstage but was unable to return to the stage to continue, and so forfeited the match.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

So far he’d forfeited a brand-new Call of Duty game, a vintage Rolling Stones T-shirt he’d bought at the flea market, and a baseball signed by Mariano Rivera.

From "Goodbye Stranger" by Rebecca Stead

James came to Inglewood, which is 4-1 this season, after being fired at Hawkins in 2016 following the discovery of ineligible players, resulting in Hawkins forfeiting all its games and going 0-13.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

Rather than insuring against a specific risk that went badly in the past, “the government started heading off opportunities for risk altogether, explicitly forfeiting growth in exchange for safety.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

"We want the Lebanese state to negotiate for itself, and nobody is suggesting forfeiting this role," Fayyad said.

From Barron's ● Jun. 13, 2026

Armstrong adds that investors should get a discount for forfeiting control: "I want to pay less for a company where my ownership does not include control."

From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026

A subsequent investigation revealed that the primary motivation for the raid was the possibility of forfeiting Scott’s property.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

Related Words

• abandon
• lose
• relinquish
• renounce
• surrender