foreclose
verb
uk/fɔːˈkləʊz/ us/fɔːrˈkloʊz/ [ I or T ] FINANCE, PROPERTY
if a company, especially a bank, forecloses, it takes back property that was bought with borrowed money because the money was not being paid back as agreed:
Without written proof of defaults on payments, the bank has no right to foreclose.
foreclose on a home/loan/property The building society will foreclose on a loan if the payment is four to five months late.
[ T ]
to prevent something from being considered as a possibility in the future:
foreclose competition/a market/options There was evidence of suspected market sharing agreements aimed at foreclosing competition and preventing access to the market.
be foreclosed from (doing) sth EC operators are foreclosed from bidding in Massachusetts on non-trade grounds.