foul

[ foul ]
See synonyms for foul on Thesaurus.com
adjective,foul·er, foul·est.
  1. grossly offensive to the senses; disgustingly loathsome; noisome: a foul smell.

  2. containing or characterized by offensive or noisome matter: foul air; foul stagnant water.

  1. filthy or dirty, as places, receptacles, clothes, etc.

  2. muddy, as a road.

  3. clogged or obstructed with foreign matter: a foul gas jet.

  4. unfavorable or stormy: foul weather.

  5. contrary, violent, or unfavorable, as the wind.

  6. grossly offensive in a moral sense.

  7. abominable, wicked, or vile, as deeds, crime, slander, etc.

  8. scurrilous, profane, or obscene; offensive: foul language.

  9. contrary to the rules or established usages, as of a sport or game; unfair: a foul blow.

  10. Baseball. pertaining to a foul ball or a foul line.

  11. limited in freedom of movement by obstruction, entanglement, etc.: a foul anchor.

  12. abounding in errors or in marks of correction, as a printer's proof, manuscript, or the like.

  13. Nautical.

    • (of the underwater portion of a hull) encrusted and impeded with barnacles, seaweed, etc.

    • (of a mooring place) involving inconveniences and dangers, as of colliding with vessels or other objects when swinging with the tide.

    • (of the bottom of a body of water) affording a poor hold for an anchor (opposed to clean).

  14. North England and Scot.. not fair; ugly or unattractive.

  15. Obsolete. disfigured.

adverb
  1. in a foul manner; vilely; unfairly.

  2. Baseball. into foul territory; so as to be foul: It looked like a homer when he hit it, but it went foul.

noun
  1. something that is foul.

  2. a collision or entanglement: a foul between two racing sculls.

  1. a violation of the rules of a sport or game: The referee called it a foul.

  2. Baseball. foul ball.

verb (used with object)
  1. to make foul; defile; soil.

  2. to clog or obstruct, as a chimney or the bore of a gun.

  1. to collide with.

  2. to cause to become entangled or caught, as a rope.

  3. to defile; dishonor; disgrace: His reputation had been fouled by unfounded accusations.

  4. Nautical. (of barnacles, seaweed, etc.) to cling to (a hull) so as to encumber.

  5. Baseball. to hit (a pitched ball) foul (often followed by off or away): He fouled off two curves before being struck out on a fastball.

verb (used without object)
  1. to become foul.

  2. Nautical. to come into collision, as two boats.

  1. to become entangled or clogged: The rope fouled.

  2. Sports. to make a foul play; give a foul blow.

  3. Baseball. to hit a foul ball.

Verb Phrases
  1. foul out,

    • Baseball. to be put out by hitting a foul ball caught on the fly by a player on the opposing team.

    • Basketball. to be expelled from a game for having committed more fouls than is allowed.

  2. foul up, Informal. to cause confusion or disorder; bungle; spoil.

Idioms about foul

  1. fall foul / afoul of,

    • to collide with, as ships.

    • to come into conflict with; quarrel.

    • to make an attack; assault.

  2. foul one's nest, to dishonor one's own home, family, or the like.

  1. run foul / afoul of, to come into collision or controversy with: to run foul of the press.

Origin of foul

1
before 900; (adj. and noun) Middle English ful, foul,Old English fūl; cognate with Gothic fuls,Old Norse fūll,Old High German fūl; akin to Latin pūspus, pūtēre to stink, Greek pýon pus; (adv.) Middle English fule, foule, derivative of the adj.; (v.) Middle English fulen, derivative of the adj.

synonym study For foul

3. See dirty.

Other words for foul

Opposites for foul

Other words from foul

  • foully, adverb
  • o·ver·foul, adjective
  • o·ver·foul·ly, adverb
  • o·ver·foul·ness, noun
  • un·foul, adjective
  • un·foul·ly, adverb
  • un·fouled, adjective

Words that may be confused with foul

Words Nearby foul

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use foul in a sentence

  • Two years later this promising recruit, having fallen foul of the military authorities, had to leave the service under a cloud.

    Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-Pattison
  • But I have some more foul way to trot through still, in your Epistles and Satyrs, &c.

  • After he was securely bound he was forced to stand while the two, with foul epithets, hung the body of the corporal over the road.

  • Without warning, we found ourselves foul of a picket-line, and the vague forms of grazing horses loomed close by.

    Raw Gold | Bertrand W. Sinclair
  • But it was strongly rumoured that there had been foul play, peculation, even forgery.

British Dictionary definitions for foul

foul

/ (faʊl) /


adjective
  1. offensive to the senses; revolting

  2. offensive in odour; stinking

  1. charged with or full of dirt or offensive matter; filthy

  2. (of food) putrid; rotten

  3. morally or spiritually offensive; wicked; vile

  4. obscene; vulgar: foul language

  5. not in accordance with accepted standards or established rules; unfair: to resort to foul means

  6. (esp of weather) unpleasant or adverse

  7. blocked or obstructed with dirt or foreign matter: a foul drain

  8. entangled or impeded: a foul anchor

  9. (of the bottom of a vessel) covered with barnacles and other growth that slow forward motion

  10. informal unsatisfactory or uninteresting; bad: a foul book

  11. archaic ugly

noun
  1. sport

    • a violation of the rules

    • (as modifier): a foul shot; a foul blow

  2. something foul

  1. an entanglement or collision, esp in sailing or fishing

verb
  1. to make or become dirty or polluted

  2. to become or cause to become entangled or snarled

  1. (tr) to disgrace or dishonour

  2. to become or cause to become clogged or choked

  3. (tr) nautical (of underwater growth) to cling to (the bottom of a vessel) so as to slow its motion

  4. (tr) sport to commit a foul against (an opponent)

  5. (tr) baseball to hit (a ball) in an illegal manner

  6. (intr) sport to infringe the rules

  7. (tr) (of an animal, especially a dog) to defecate on: do not let your dog foul the footpath

  8. to collide with (a boat, etc)

adverb
  1. in a foul or unfair manner

  2. fall foul of

    • to come into conflict with

    • nautical to come into collision with

Origin of foul

1
Old English fūl; related to Old Norse fūll, Gothic fūls smelling offensively, Latin pūs pus, Greek puol pus

Derived forms of foul

  • foully, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with foul

foul

In addition to the idioms beginning with foul

  • foul one's nest
  • foul play
  • foul up

also see:

  • run afoul of

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.