foul
foul definition
foul (fo̵ul)
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
- treacherous; dishonest
- Chiefly Brit., Now Dial. ugly
- Informal unpleasant, disagreeable, etc.
- ☆ Baseball of or having to do with the part of the field that lies outside the foul lines
- Printing containing errors or marked with changes foul copy or proof
Etymology: ME < OE ful, akin to Ger faul, rotten, lazy < IE base *pū-, *pu-, to stink (< ? exclamation of disgust) > L putere, to rot, Gr pyon, pus
adverb
- in a foul way
- Baseball in or into the part of the field that lies outside the foul lines
noun
anything foul; specif.,
- a collision of boats, contestants, etc.
- an infraction of the rules, as of a game or sport
- Baseball foul ball
transitive verb
- to make foul; dirty; soil; defile
- to dishonor or disgrace
- to impede or obstruct; specif.,
- to fill up; encrust; choke to foul a drain with grease
- to cover (the bottom of a ship) with barnacles, seaweed, etc.
- to entangle; catch a rope fouled in the shrouds
- to make a foul against in a contest or game
- ☆ Baseball to bat (the ball) so that it falls outside the foul lines
intransitive verb
- to become dirty, filthy, or rotten
- to be clogged or choked
- to become tangled
- to break the rules of a game
- Baseball to bat the ball so that it falls outside the foul lines or is caught there to foul to the third baseman
foul Idioms
foul out
☆- Baseball to be retired as batter by the catch of a foul ball
- Basketball to be disqualified from further play for having committed a specified number of personal fouls
foul up
☆Informal to make a mess of; make disordered or confused; bungle
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Comments
Improve this definition.
Share on Facebook