Foreclose

Part of speech: verb (v.)

To shut up or out; to preclude; to stop; to prevent; to bar; to exclude. The embargo with Spain foreclosed this trade. Carew. To foreclose a mortgager (Law), to cut him off by a judgment of court from the power of redeeming the mortgaged premises, termed his equity of redemption. -- To foreclose a mortgage, (not technically correct, but often used to signify) the obtaining a judgment for the payment of an overdue mortgage, and the exposure of the mortgaged property to sale to meet the mortgage debt. Wharton.