What does "foul" mean?
A breach of the rules of a game, especially one involving inappropriate contact with an opposing player in order to gain an advantage; for example, tripping someone up in soccer, or contact of any kind in basketball.
Foul
/faʊl/ adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A breach of the rules of a game, especially one involving inappropriate contact with an opposing player in order to gain an advantage; for example, tripping someone up in soccer, or contact of any kind in basketball.
- Grammar: foul is listed as adj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: abase, abeyant, abhorrent, abject.
- Useful contrasts: nice, fair, aroma.
- Usage evidence: No love is foul nor prison fair.
How to use "foul"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "foul" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "foul" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "foul" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "foul" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "foul" is acting as adj, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "abase" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "foul", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A breach of the rules of a game, especially one involving inappropriate contact with an opposing player in order to gain an advantage; for example, tripping someone up in soccer, or contact of any kind in basketball.
"A second Norwich goal in four minutes arrived after some dire Newcastle defending. Gosling gave the ball away with a sloppy back-pass, allowing Crofts to curl in a cross that the unmarked Morison powered in with a firm, 12-yard header. Gosling's plight worsened when he was soon shown a red card for a foul on Martin."
- 2 an act that violates the rules of a sport wordnet
- 3 A (usually accidental) contact between a bowler and the lane before the bowler has released the ball.
- 4 A foul ball, a ball which has been hit outside of the base lines.
"Jones hit a foul up over the screen."
Verb
- 1 To make dirty. transitive
"to foul the face or hands with mire"
- 2 become soiled and dirty wordnet
- 3 To besmirch. transitive
"He's fouled his reputation."
- 4 make unclean wordnet
- 5 To obstruct, block, or otherwise interfere with (something), for example by clogging (a drain, gun barrel, chimney, etc) or by being in the way of (a gunshot, etc). intransitive, transitive
"The hair has fouled the drain."
Show 13 more definitions
- 6 spot, stain, or pollute wordnet
- 7 To entangle. transitive
"The kelp has fouled the prop."
- 8 make impure wordnet
- 9 To make contact with an opposing player in order to gain advantage. transitive
"Smith fouled him hard."
- 10 commit a foul; break the rules wordnet
- 11 To commit a foul. intransitive
"Smith fouled within the first minute of the quarter."
- 12 hit a foul ball wordnet
- 13 To hit outside of the baselines. transitive
"Jones fouled the ball off the facing of the upper deck."
- 14 become or cause to become obstructed wordnet
- 15 To hit a ball outside of the baselines. intransitive
"Jones fouled for strike one."
- 16 To become clogged. intransitive
"The drain fouled."
- 17 To become entangled. intransitive
"The prop fouled on the kelp."
- 18 To come into contact or collide with.
"The full capacity, however, requires a hopper of a size that takes the wagon body up to 11ft 11½in above rail level, which would foul many existing colliery screens."
Adjective
- 1 Covered with, or containing unclean matter; dirty.
"This cloth is too foul to use as a duster."
- 2 Obscene, vulgar or abusive.
"The rascal spewed forth a series of foul words."
- 3 Detestable, unpleasant, loathsome.
"He has a foul set of friends."
- 4 Disgusting, repulsive; causing disgust.
"This foul food is making me retch."
- 5 Ugly; homely; poor. obsolete
"Let us, like merchants, show our foulest wares."
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 Unpleasant, stormy or rainy. (of the weather)
"Some foul weather is brewing."
- 7 Dishonest or not conforming to the established rules and customs of a game, conflict, test, etc.
"Foul play is not suspected."
- 8 Entangled and therefore restricting free movement, not clear.
"We've got a foul anchor."
- 9 (with "of") Positioned on, in, or near enough to (a specified area) so as to obstruct it.
"The bus had stopped just foul of the north track at the Erindale Station Road public railway crossing […] With the bus stationary, but still foul of the north track, the train struck one of its front mirrors."
- 10 Outside of the base lines; in foul territory.
"Jones hit foul ball after foul ball."
Adjective
- 1 especially of a ship's lines etc wordnet
- 2 disgustingly dirty; filled or smeared with offensive matter wordnet
- 3 characterized by obscenity wordnet
- 4 (of a baseball) not hit between the foul lines wordnet
- 5 violating accepted standards or rules wordnet
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 offensively malodorous wordnet
- 7 (of a manuscript) defaced with changes wordnet
- 8 highly offensive; arousing aversion or disgust wordnet
Example
"No love is foul nor prison fair."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "foul"?
Common synonyms include: abase, abeyant, abhorrent, abject, abominable, abuse.
How do you use "foul" in a sentence?
No love is foul nor prison fair.
How do you pronounce "foul"?
Pronounced /faʊl/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Inherited from Middle English foul, from Old English fūl (“foul, dirty, unclean, impure, vile, corrupt, rotten, stinking, guilty”), from Proto-West Germanic *fūl, from Proto-Germanic *fūlaz (“foul, rotten”), from Proto-Indo-European *puH- (“to rot”). Cognate with Dutch vuil (“foul, dirty, filthy, obscene, lewd”), German faul (“foul, rotten, putrid, lazy”), German Low German fuul (“foul, rotten, putrid”), Faroese fúlur (“foul”), Icelandic fúll (“foul, rotten, sullen”), Danish ful (“nasty, ugly”), Norwegian Bokmål ful (“clever, sly”), and Swedish ful (“ugly, dirty, bad”), and through Indo-European, with Albanian fëlliq (“to make dirty”), Latin puter (“rotten”). More at putrid. Ancient Greek φαῦλος (phaûlos, “bad”) is a false cognate inasmuch as it is not from the same etymon, instead being cognate to few.
Etymology 2
Inherited from Middle English foulen, fulen, from Old English fūlian (“to become foul; rot; decay”), from Proto-West Germanic *fūlēn, from Proto-Germanic *fūlāną (“to rot; decay”).