Word forms: comparative fouler, superlative foulest, plural, 3rd person singular presenttense 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 becometwisted 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
foul in British English
(faʊl)
adjective
1.
offensive to the senses; revolting
2.
offensive in odour; stinking
3.
charged with or full of dirt or offensive matter; filthy
4.
(of food) putrid; rotten
5.
morally or spiritually offensive; wicked; vile
6.
obscene; vulgar
foul language
7.
not in accordance with accepted standards or established rules; unfair
to resort to foul means
8.
(esp of weather) unpleasant or adverse
9.
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.
a violation of the rules
b.
(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 pūspus, Greek puol pus
foul in American English
(faʊl)
adjective
1.
so offensive to the senses as to cause disgust; stinking; loathsome
a foul odor
2.
extremely dirty or impure; disgustingly filthy
3.
full of or blocked up with dirt or foreign objects
a foul pipe
4.
putrid; rotten
said of food
5.
not decent; obscene; profane
foul language
6.
very wicked; abominable
a foul murder
7.
not clear; stormy; unfavorable
foul weather, winds, etc.
8.
tangled or snarled; caught
a foul rope
9.
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
see also fair1 (sense 15), fair ball
14. Printing
containing errors or marked with changes
foul copy or proof
adverb
15.
in a foul way
16. Baseball
in or into the part of the field that lies outside the foul lines
noun
17.
anything foul
; specif.,
a.
a collision of boats, contestants, etc.
b.
an infraction of the rules, as of a game or sport
c. Baseball
foul ball
verb transitive
18.
to make foul; dirty; soil; defile
19.
to dishonor or disgrace
20.
to impede or obstruct
; specif.,
a.
to fill up; encrust; choke
to foul a drain with grease
b.
to cover (the bottom of a ship) with barnacles, seaweed, etc.
c.
to entangle; catch
a rope fouled in the shrouds
21.
to make a foul against in a contest or game
22. US, Baseball
to bat (the ball) so that it falls outside the foul lines
verb intransitive
23.
to become dirty, filthy, or rotten
24.
to be clogged or choked
25.
to become tangled
26.
to break the rules of a game
27. Baseball
to bat the ball so that it falls outside the foul lines or is caught there
to foul to the third baseman
SIMILAR WORDS: ˈdirty
Idioms:
foul out
foul up
run foul of
Derived forms
foully (ˈfoully)
adverb
foulness (ˈfoulness)
noun
Word origin
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
More idioms containing
foul
foul your own nest
by fair means or foul
Examples of 'foul' in a sentence
foul
What a shame that foul play should be so pivotal to its momentum.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
But there were no more than the usual howls for a foul to the referee.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It should not have been given because there was no foul by my player.
The Sun (2017)
Two of them appeared to be the victims of foul play.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
They are wrong to cry foul.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
After a difficult day at work, you return home in a foul mood.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Lancaster city council had two surveillance operations during 2012 aimed at identifying instances of dog fouling.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The air grows foul again.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It was quite a large foul drain, running 60 feet from the house.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
He committed his fair share of fouls in those three matches.
The Sun (2010)
Should it be the player that was fouled?
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Something so foul produces something so fine.
Christianity Today (2000)
The public are in a foul mood.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
There were reportedly no signs of foul play.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
There were a lot of soft fouls in the game.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Smaller cinema chains that have spent millions upgrading their equipment are crying foul most loudly.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The captain was gasping badly in the foul air.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
You sometimes see really bad fouls which go unpunished.
The Sun (2015)
Was he inside it when the foul took place?
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
It was his man who was fouled first.
The Sun (2013)
They dealt with the competition by fair means and foul.
Jack Turner SPICE: The History of a Temptation (2004)
The west is wet because it bears the brunt of foul Atlantic weather.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Word lists with
foul
Weather descriptions
In other languages
foul
British English: foul /faʊl/ ADJECTIVE
If you describe something as foul, you mean it is dirty and smells or tastes unpleasant.
...foul, polluted water.
American English: foul
Arabic: وَسِخ
Brazilian Portuguese: imundo
Chinese: 污秽的
Croatian: zagađen
Czech: ohavný
Danish: ækel
Dutch: smerig
European Spanish: fétido
Finnish: inhottava
French: infect
German: scheußlich
Greek: ακάθαρτος
Italian: disgustoso
Japanese: いやな
Korean: 더러운
Norwegian: skitten
Polish: śmierdzący
European Portuguese: sujo
Romanian: împuțit
Russian: загрязненный
Latin American Spanish: repugnante
Swedish: illaluktande
Thai: เหม็นเน่า
Turkish: kirli
Ukrainian: брудний
Vietnamese: dơ
British English: foul /faʊl/ NOUN
In sports such as football, a foul is an action that is against the rules.
American English: foul
Arabic: مُخَالَفَة
Brazilian Portuguese: falta
Chinese: 犯规
Croatian: prekršaj
Czech: faul
Danish: forseelse
Dutch: overtreding sport
European Spanish: falta
Finnish: virhe sääntörikkomus pelissä
French: faute sport
German: Foul
Greek: φάουλ
Italian: fallo errore
Japanese: ファウル
Korean: 반칙
Norwegian: overtredelse
Polish: sfaulowanie
European Portuguese: infração
Romanian: fault
Russian: нарушение правил
Latin American Spanish: falta
Swedish: foul
Thai: การทำผิดกติกา
Turkish: faul
Ukrainian: фол
Vietnamese: sự chơi xấu
All related terms of 'foul'
foul up
If you foul up something such as a plan, you spoil it by doing something wrong or stupid .
cry foul
If you cry foul , you claim that someone, especially an opponent or rival , has acted illegally or unfairly.
foul ball
a batted ball that is not a fair ball
foul line
either of the lines extending from home plate through the outside corners of first base or third base and onward to the end of the outfield
foul mood
Your mood is the way you are feeling at a particular time. If you are in a good mood , you feel cheerful . If you are in a bad mood , you feel angry and impatient .
foul out
to be retired as batter by the catch of a foul ball
foul play
Foul play is criminal violence or activity that results in a person's death .
foul pole
either of the tall poles that mark the ends of the foul lines in the outfield
foul shot
an unimpeded shot at the basket from the free-throw line given for a technical fault (one free shot) or a foul (two free shots )
foul tip
a batted ball barely tipped by the bat: it is counted as a strike , but to be counted as a third strike, it must be caught by the catcher
foul marten
→ another name for polecat (sense 1 ) → See also sweet marten
foul language
A language is a system of communication which consists of a set of sounds and written symbols which are used by the people of a particular country or region for talking or writing .
foul-mouthed
If you describe someone as foul-mouthed , you disapprove of them because they use offensive words or say very rude things.
foul-smelling
having a very unpleasant smell
foul-tasting
having a very unpleasant taste
foul-tempered
frequently and unnecessarily sullen or angry
foul weather
The weather is the condition of the atmosphere in one area at a particular time, for example if it is raining , hot, or windy .
personal foul
a foul awarded for making illegal contact with an opponent
fall foul of
to come into conflict with
run foul of
to collide with or become entangled in
technical foul
a foul awarded for an offence , such as unsporting conduct , that does not involve physical contact with an opponent
professional foul
In football , if a player commits a professional foul , they deliberately do something which is against the rules in order to prevent another player from scoring a goal .
to fall foul of
If you fall foul of someone or run foul of them, you do something which gets you into trouble with them.
foul your own nest
to do something which damages your own interests or chances of success
by fair means or foul
If someone tries to achieve something by fair means or foul , they use every means possible in order to achieve it, and they do not care if their behaviour is dishonest or unfair .
to run foul of to fall foul of
If you run foul of someone or fall foul of them, you do something which gets you into trouble with them.