What is most closely the definition of forge as it is used in the passage below (paragraph 8)? But the class is an overnight sensation, and Carnegie goes on to found the Dale Carnegie Institute, dedicated to helping businessmen root out the very insecurities that had held him back as a young man. In 1913 he publishes his first book, Public Speaking and Influencing Men in Business. “In the days when pianos and bathrooms were luxuries,” Carnegie writes, “men regarded ability in speaking as a peculiar gift, needed only by the lawyer, clergyman, or statesman. Today we have come to realize that it is the indispensable weapon of those who would forge ahead in the keen competition of business.”

A. verb | to make a copy or imitation of a document, signature, or work of art in order to deceive
B. verb | to shape or form a metal object by heating it in a fire and hammering it
C. noun | a furnace for heating and refining metal objects
D. verb | to advance or move forward slowly and steadily