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

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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”

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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

Although initially defiant in a now-deleted Instagram post, Wietrzyk apologised in the week after the Beijing event and said she would forfeit the win and retroactively withdraw from the race.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

Americans collectively forfeit billions of dollars annually in unused benefits, which often expire at the end of the calendar year.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

Because Inglewood lost to Westlake of Austin on Aug. 28, a forfeit was moot for this season.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026

Plus: The U.S. is pressuring Mexico to box out China’s AI hardware exports, and a Maduro ally will forfeit $195 million in a money-laundering plea.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

The timing of this demand seems to place in doubt the motives for your federation's not insisting at first for a forfeit on the first game.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

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

It’s been a long road back for Hawkins after the program hit rock bottom in 2017 with forfeits, the firing of the coaching staff and an exodus of players.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 26, 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

Donaldson subsequently asked for his knighthood to be forfeited and tendered his resignation from the Privy Council with immediate effect.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

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

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

When Judith doesn't show up at the appointed time, Willem jokes that she has forfeited the right to one of her thimbles, and he should get to drink it instead.

From "Girl in the Blue Coat" by Monica Hesse

Retailers facing higher wholesale prices for fuel deliveries are given the choice of passing this increase onto the customer, or forfeiting their profitable margins.

From BBC ● 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

It’s a winning combination for these two indexes to reduce risk by a fifth while forfeiting only about a 10th of the S&P 500 return.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 6, 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

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Related Words

• abandon
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• relinquish
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• surrender

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