forestall : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: forestall	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for forestall
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
forestall v keep from happening or arising; make impossible; "My sense of tact forbids an honest answer"; "Your role in the projects precludes your involvement in the competitive project" Synonym(s): prevent, forestall, foreclose, preclude, forbid act in advance of; deal with ahead of time Synonym(s): anticipate, foresee, forestall, counter
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Forestall \Forestall"\, 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.