Word.ws English Dictionary

foistware

foistware noun: software that is installed without the user's knowledge or consent, often bundled with another product.

Noun

foistware (uncountable)

  1. (derogatory) Software that is installed without the user's knowledge or consent, often bundled with another product.
    • They can acquire viruses, worms, foistware, and back doors.2003, William R. Cheswick, Steven M. Bellovin, Aviel D. Rubin, Firewalls and Internet security: repelling the wily hacker, page 241
    • Is it possible to block foistware using Proxomitron or Privoxy filters ?2003, data64, “What browsers are vulnerable to drive-by download”, in alt.privacy.spyware (Usenet)
    Synonyms:
    bloatware, crapware

Synonyms of foistware

Origin of foistware

From foist + -ware.

Questions about foistware

What does foistware mean?
Foistware means software that is installed without the user's knowledge or consent, often bundled with another product.
What part of speech is foistware?
Foistware is a noun.

Words near foistware in the dictionary

  1. foisting
  2. foisting off
  3. foistings
  4. foists
  5. foists off
  6. foistware
  7. foisty
  8. Foisy
  9. Foisys
  10. FOIT
  11. foitite

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: foistware (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.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-foistware.wav.

Cite this entry: “foistware.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/foistware. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.