This term has different meanings depending on the context in which it is used:
In the context of property law, where, if a mortgagor (www.practicallaw.com/A36465) of land fails to repay the loan, the mortgagee (www.practicallaw.com/A36464) obtains a court order under which it becomes owner of the land.
In the context of competition law, the closing of potential opportunities to actual or potential competitors by means of exclusivity arrangements (so that, for example, a party who agrees to purchase all his requirements for products of a particular range from one supplier denies other suppliers the opportunity of supplying him). There will be foreclosure where such arrangements make it difficult to enter the market and where there are no concrete possibilities for bypassing those arrangements, for example, by acquiring or using other distribution formats.