foist
UK/fɔɪst/
foist verb: to introduce or insert surreptitiously or without warrant. Also the pronunciation spelling of first.
Verb
foist (third-person singular simple present foists, present participle foisting, simple past and past participle foisted)
- To introduce or insert surreptitiously or without warrant.
- But apart from this, it is difficult for a man like Watt to tell a long story like Watt's without leaving out some things, and foisting in others.1953, Samuel Beckett, Watt, [Paris]: Olympia Press, →OCLC
- the Tale of Zayn al-Asnám is one of two which Galland repudiated, as having been foisted into his 8th volume without his knowledgea. 1896, William Alexander Clouston, Variants and Analogues of some of the Tales in the Supplemental Nights: Volume 2
- To force another to accept especially by stealth or deceit; to stick.
- I am, of course, perfectly aware of how old men try to foist on the public the decay of their intellects and all the rest of their senile shortcomings as valuable qualities, the possession of which gives them special authority.1933 August, [George] Bernard Shaw, The Political Madhouse in America and Nearer Home: A Lecture, London: Constable & Co, →OCLC, page 11
- It is only a decade or so since the air was thick with muttering that L.M.S. influence was far too strong on the newly-born Railway Executive and that too many L.M.S. practices were being foisted on the rest of the system.1961 May, “Editorial: Mr. M. presents Dr. B. - for a limited season only”, in Trains Illustrated, page 257
- To pass off as genuine or worthy.
- foist costly and valueless products on the public1969, Jonathan Spivak, “Competitive Problems in the Drug Industry”, in The Wall Street Journal
Noun (1)
foist (plural foists)
- A thief or pickpocket.
- The foist had lately arrived form the country and was known to be doing a thriving trade in and around Westminster Hall where many country folk and others came to see lawyers.1977, Gãmini Salgãdo, The Elizabethan Underworld, Folio Society, published 2006, page 54
- Synonyms:
- pickpocket
Noun (2)
foist (plural foists)
- A type of light and fast-sailing ship.
- These are mad boys, I tell you; these are things That will not strike their top-sails to a foist, / And let a man of war, an argosy, Hull and cry cockles.c. 1608–1610, Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher, “Philaster: Or, Love Lies a Bleeding”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1679...
- Synonyms:
- fuste, fusta
Noun (3)
foist (plural foists)
Noun (4) capitalized: Foist
Foist (plural Foists)
- A follower of Chinese Buddhism.
Also used as
foist is also the pronunciation spelling of first.
Examples of foist in a sentence
- Countries with export surpluses foisted them off by bounties or placed them through unilateral agreements.
- “Eighty-something, and he’s even more of a horn-dog since Pfizer foisted Viagra on the world.”
- It's become impossible to keep abreast of all the best-ofs, as labels keep foisting greatest-hits albums on overwhelmed consumers.
Synonyms of foist
- pickpocket
- fuste
- fusta
- fob off
- pass off
- pawn off
- palm off
Forms of foist
| Verb | |
|---|---|
| third-person singular present | foists |
| present participle | foisting |
| past participle | foisted |
| past | foisted |
| Noun | |
| plural | foists |
| plural | Foists |
Origin of foist
Probably from archaic Dutch vuisten (“to take into one’s hand”), from Middle Dutch vuysten, from vuyst (“fist”); akin to Old English fyst (“fist”).
From Old French fuste (“stick, boat”), from Latin fustis (“cudgel”).
From Old French fust (whence also French fût), from Latin fustis.
Words formed from foist
Words that rhyme with foist
Questions about foist
- What does foist mean?
- Foist means to introduce or insert surreptitiously or without warrant.
- What part of speech is foist?
- Foist can be a verb or a noun.
- How do you pronounce foist?
- Foist is pronounced /fɔɪst/ (UK).
- What is the past tense of foist?
- The past tense of foist is foisted.
Words near foist in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: foist (page history and authors); Foist (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-foist.ogg.
Cite this entry: “foist.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/foist. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.