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The Collaborative International Dictionary
Forestalling

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.

    An ugly serpent which forestalled their way.
    --Fairfax.

    But evermore those damsels did forestall Their furious encounter.
    --Spenser.

    To be forestalled ere we come to fall.
    --Shak.

    Habit is a forestalled and obstinate judge.
    --Rush.

  3. To deprive; -- with of. [R.]

    All the better; may This night forestall him of the coming day!
    --Shak.

  4. (Eng. Law) To obstruct or stop up, as a way; to stop the passage of on highway; to intercept on the road, as goods on the way to market.

    To forestall the market, to buy or contract for merchandise or provision on its way to market, with the intention of selling it again at a higher price; to dissuade persons from bringing their goods or provisions there; or to persuade them to enhance the price when there. This was an offense at law in England until 1844.
    --Burrill.

    Syn: To anticipate; monopolize; engross.

Wiktionary
forestalling

n. The act of one who forestalls. vb. (present participle of forestall English)

WordNet
forestalling

n. the act of preventing something by anticipating and disposing of it effectively [syn: obviation, preclusion]

Usage examples of "forestalling".

How the justices who later dissented could have brought themselves to join this per curiam opinion defies understandingunless they, too, were playing a game, trying to prevent a result with which they disagreed by forestalling the possibility that the Court would have to overrule the state court.

They also appeased the general apprehension of a scarcity of bread, by orders to prevent the exportation of corn, and by enforcing the old laws against monopoly, forestalling, and regrating.

Grant, in command at Cairo, began his career as a general by cleverly forestalling the enemy at Paducah, where the Tennessee flows into the Ohio.

If the United States embarks on a military campaign against Iraq, Baghdad might very well decide to try to overthrow King Abdallah as a way of forestalling or derailing the campaign.

This manwhoever he ishas come very close to forestalling the mission to Rak Hagga with his accusation.

A British oath from the deck of the ship went out to meet a fine French explosion of profanity from the boat, both forestalling the splash of the tangled rope into the water under the bows of the ship, and a full ten yards out of the reach of the man who stood, boathook in hand, ready to catch it.

And," he said quickly, forestalling further protest, "it was a choice, at the time, of freezing with you or a few yards farther on.

At that point several came to collect empty plates, forestalling One-Eye from poormouthing about how he was so grossly overworked.

Bunt had evidently prepared some grave remonstration, but Costard, forestalling him, bleated out, "

Walid Pasha had arrived with the big guns, and Bass breathed a sigh of relief, for he had by that time about run out of convincing arguments to use in further forestalling a suicidal assault against Oentreib's walls and guns.