Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The act of surrendering something as a forfeit.
  • noun A loss of property to penalize a failure to act in accordance with a legal requirement.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The act of forfeiting; the losing of some moral or legal right or privilege, as estate, office, effects, honor, or credit, through one's own fault.
  • noun Specifically, in law, the divesting of property, or the termination or failure of a right, by or in consequence of a wrong, default, or breach of a condition.
  • noun That which is forfeited; a forfeit; a fine or mulct.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The act of forfeiting; the loss of some right, privilege, estate, honor, office, or effects, by an offense, crime, breach of condition, or other act.
  • noun That which is forfeited; a penalty; a fine or mulct.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun law A legal action whereby a person loses all interest in the forfeit property.
  • noun law The loss of forfeit property.
  • noun law The property lost as a forfeit.
  • noun Any loss occasioned by one's own actions.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the act of losing or surrendering something as a penalty for a mistake or fault or failure to perform etc.
  • noun something that is lost or surrendered as a penalty
  • noun a penalty for a fault or mistake that involves losing or giving up something

Etymologies

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Examples

Comments

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  • ... on mans behalf

    Patron or Intercessor none appeerd,

    Much less that durst upon his own head draw

    The deadly forfeiture, and ransom set.

    Milton, Paradise Lost III

    December 18, 2006