English Dictionary: forestall | by the DICT Development Group |
2 results for forestall | |
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]: | |
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From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
Forestall \Fore*stall"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Forestalled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Forestalling}.] [OE. forstallen to stop, to obstruct; to stop (goods) on the way to the market by buying them beforehand, from forstal obstruction, AS. forsteal, foresteall, prop., a placing one's self before another. See {Fore}, and {Stall}.] 1. To take beforehand, or in advance; to anticipate. What need a man forestall his date of grief, And run to meet what he would most avoid? --Milton. 2. To take possession of, in advance of some one or something else, to the exclusion or detriment of the latter; to get ahead of; to preoccupy; also, to exclude, hinder, or prevent, by prior occupation, or by measures taken in advance. |