Definition of 'foul'

Word Frequency

foul

(faʊl )

Word forms: comparative fouler , superlative foulest , plural, 3rd person singular present tense fouls , present participle fouling , past tense, past participle fouled

1. adjective

If you describe something as foul, you mean it is dirty and smells or tastes unpleasant.

...foul polluted water.

The smell was quite foul.

Synonyms: dirty, rank, offensive, nasty More Synonyms of foul

2. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun]

Foul language is offensive and contains swear words or rude words.

He was sent off for using foul language in a match last Sunday.

He had a foul mouth.

Synonyms: obscene, crude, indecent, foul-mouthed More Synonyms of foul

3. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun]

If someone has a foul temper or is in a foul mood, they become angry or violent very suddenly and easily.

Collins was in a foul mood even before the interviews began.

4. adjective

Foul weather is unpleasant, windy, and stormy.

5. verb

If a place is fouled by someone or something, they make it dirty.

Two oil-related accidents have fouled the ocean and the skies there. [VERB noun]

6. verb

If an animal fouls a place, it drops faeces onto the ground.

It is an offence to let your dog foul a footpath. [VERB noun]

7. verb

If a machine or vehicle fouls part of its mechanism or if something such as a rope fouls the mechanism, the mechanism can no longer work properly because something has become twisted or knotted around it.

The freighter fouled its propeller in fishing nets. [VERB noun]

Synonyms: entangle, catch, twist, snarl More Synonyms of foul

8. verb

In a game or sport, if a player fouls another player, they touch them or block them in a way which is not allowed according to the rules.

He was sent off for fouling the striker. [VERB noun]

9. countable noun

A foul is an act in a game or sport that is not allowed according to the rules.

He has committed more fouls than any other player this season. [+ on]

Foul is also an adjective.

...a foul tackle.

10.

See cry foul

11.

See by fair means or foul

12.

See to fall foul of

Phrasal verbs:

See foul up

More Synonyms of foul

Video: pronunciation of
foul

foul in British English

(faʊl )

adjective

offensive to the senses; revolting

offensive in odour; stinking

charged with or full of dirt or offensive matter; filthy

(of food) putrid; rotten

morally or spiritually offensive; wicked; vile

obscene; vulgar

foul language

not in accordance with accepted standards or established rules; unfair

to resort to foul means

(esp of weather) unpleasant or adverse

blocked or obstructed with dirt or foreign matter

a foul drain

10.

entangled or impeded

a foul anchor

11.

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

12. informal

unsatisfactory or uninteresting; bad

a foul book

13. archaic

ugly

noun

14. sport

a violation of the rules

(as modifier)

a foul shot

a foul blow

15.

something foul

16.

an entanglement or collision, esp in sailing or fishing

verb

17.

to make or become dirty or polluted

18.

to become or cause to become entangled or snarled

19. (transitive)

to disgrace or dishonour

20.

to become or cause to become clogged or choked

21. (transitive) nautical

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

22. (transitive) sport

to commit a foul against (an opponent)

23. (transitive) baseball

to hit (a ball) in an illegal manner

24. (intransitive) sport

to infringe the rules

25. (transitive)

(of an animal, esp a dog) to defecate on

do not let your dog foul the footpath

26.

to collide with (a boat, etc)

adverb

27.

in a foul or unfair manner

28. fall foul of

Derived forms

foully (ˈfoully)

adverb

Word origin

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

Word Frequency

foul in American English

(faʊl )

adjective

so offensive to the senses as to cause disgust; stinking; loathsome

a foul odor

extremely dirty or impure; disgustingly filthy

full of or blocked up with dirt or foreign objects

a foul pipe

putrid; rotten

said of food

not decent; obscene; profane

foul language

very wicked; abominable

a foul murder

not clear; stormy; unfavorable

foul weather, winds, etc.

tangled or snarled; caught

a foul rope

not according to the rules of a game; unfair, by either accident or intention

10.

treacherous; dishonest

11. Chiefly British, Dialectal

ugly

12. Informal

unpleasant, disagreeable, etc.

13. US, Baseball

of or having to do with the part of the field that lies outside the foul lines

Example sentences including
foul

These examples have been automatically selected and may contain sensitive content. Read more…

What a shame that foul play should be so pivotal to its momentum.But there were no more than the usual howls for a foul to the referee.It should not have been given because there was no foul by my player.Two of them appeared to be the victims of foul play.They are wrong to cry foul.After a difficult day at work, you return home in a foul mood. Lancaster city council had two surveillance operations during 2012 aimed at identifying instances of dog fouling.The air grows foul again.It was quite a large foul drain, running 60 feet from the house.He committed his fair share of fouls in those three matches.