forfeit.
A penalty for or consequence of a misdemeanor.
Meaning & usage
A penalty for or consequence of a misdemeanor.
A thing forfeited; that which is taken from somebody in requital of a misdeed committed; that which is lost, or the right to which is alienated, by a crime, breach of contract, etc.
He who murders pays the forfeit of his own life.
Something deposited and redeemable by a sportive fine as part of a game.
Injury; wrong; mischief.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English forfait from ca. 1300, from Old French forfait (“crime”), originally the past participle of forfaire (“to transgress”), and Medieval Latin foris factum. During the 15th century, the sense shifted from the crime to the penalty for the crime.
To suffer the loss of something by wrongdoing or non-compliance
He forfeited his last chance of an early release from jail by repeatedly attacking another inmate.
To lose a contest, game, match, or other form of competition by voluntary withdrawal, by failing to attend or participate, or by violation of the rules
Because only nine players were present, the football team was forced to forfeit the game.
To be guilty of a misdeed; to be criminal; to transgress.
To fail to keep an obligation.
Of government officials: to legally remove property from its previous owners.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English forfait from ca. 1300, from Old French forfait (“crime”), originally the past participle of forfaire (“to transgress”), and Medieval Latin foris factum. During the 15th century, the sense shifted from the crime to the penalty for the crime.
Lost or alienated for an offense or crime; liable to penal seizure.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English forfait from ca. 1300, from Old French forfait (“crime”), originally the past participle of forfaire (“to transgress”), and Medieval Latin foris factum. During the 15th century, the sense shifted from the crime to the penalty for the crime.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.