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.

---

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

---

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

Others will simply have to forfeit all that.

From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2026

Mostly they knowingly forfeit the cash to have their 15 minutes in the limelight, sending up the pageantry of British politics.

From Slate ● Aug. 12, 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

AUS will pay $85 million in penalties and forfeit $190 million.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026

Had I gone home to eat my plate of greens, Granny would not have allowed me out again, so the penalty I paid for roaming was to forfeit my food for twelve hours.

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright

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

Instead of taking the forfeits, they played at Hamilton, and Pacifica won 42-14 with a running clock through much of the second half.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 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

Within days, all of college sports’ major conferences adopted policies against such players returning, essentially enforcing the NCAA’s original rule that players who had been through the NFL draft process forfeited any remaining eligibility.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026

The 24-year-old was leading 6-4 2-1 in the semi-final when his Australian opponent, who called for a medical timeout after the first set, forfeited the match.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

The lawsuit was filed Dec. 30, 2022, two days before Dylan would have forfeited the ability to seek damages under Governor Newsom’s Child Victims Act.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

In dissent, Justice Neil Gorsuch, a Trump appointee, said the Mississippi state courts had concluded that Pitchford’s trial team had forfeited a portion of their argument about racially discriminatory jury selection.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026

We haven’t had a practice, and we’ve forfeited two games since the ... accident.

From "Tears of a Tiger" by Sharon M. Draper

When crossing a size threshold means forfeiting valuable exemptions and preferences, rational owners stay below it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 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

Then, the Dodgers would have had to reconfigure their defense, likely moving first baseman Freddie Freeman to third, catcher Dalton Rushing to first base and Smith behind the plate, forfeiting the designated hitter spot.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026

Yet should he admit this and risk forfeiting the one friend who had ever “truly understood” him?

From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote

Related Words

• abandon
• lose
• relinquish
• renounce
• surrender