foreclose

verb

Etymology: Partially from Middle English foreclosen, forclosen, from Old French forclos, past participle of forclore (“to exclude”), from for- (“(prefix used to express error, exclusion, or inadequacy)”) + clore (“to shut”), and partially from Middle English forclusen (“to close up”), from Old English forclȳsan (“to close up”), equivalent to fore- + close.

1. To repossess a mortgaged property whose owner has failed to make the necessary payments; used with on.

   “They have to move out of their house because the bank foreclosed on their mortgage.”

2. To cut off (a mortgager) by a judgment of court from the power of redeeming the mortgaged premises.
3. To shut up or out; to prevent from doing something.

   “The embargo with Spain foreclosed this trade.”

   “One of the paradoxes of Ostpolitik, as practiced by Brandt and his successors, was that by transferring large sums of hard currency into East Germany and showering the GDR with recognition, attention, and support, West German officials unintentionally foreclosed any chance of internal change, including reform of Eastern Germany’s polluted, antiquated industrial economy.”