adj., foul·er, foul·est.
- Offensive to the senses; revolting.
- Having an offensive odor; smelly.
- Rotten or putrid: foul meat.
- Full of dirt or mud; dirty. See synonyms at dirty.
- Full of impurities; polluted: foul air.
- Morally detestable; wicked: foul deeds.
- Of a vulgar or obscene nature: foul language.
- Very disagreeable or displeasing; horrid: a foul movie.
- Bad or unfavorable: in fair weather or foul.
- Violating accepted standards or rules; dishonorable: used foul means to gain power.
- Sports. Contrary to the rules of a game or sport: a foul boxing punch.
- Baseball. Outside the foul lines: a foul fly ball.
- Entangled or twisted: a foul anchor.
- Clogged or obstructed; blocked: a foul ventilator shaft.
- Archaic. Ugly; unattractive.
- (Abbr. F)
- Sports. An infraction or a violation of the rules of play.
- Baseball. A foul ball.
- An entanglement or a collision.
- An instance of clogging or obstructing.
In a foul manner.
v., fouled, foul·ing, fouls. v.tr.
- To make dirty or foul; pollute. See synonyms at contaminate.
- To bring into dishonor; besmirch.
- To clog or obstruct.
- To entangle or catch (a rope, for example).
- Nautical. To encrust (a ship's hull) with foreign matter, such as barnacles.
- Sports. To commit a foul against.
- Baseball. To hit (a ball) outside the foul lines.
- To become foul.
- Sports. To commit a foul.
- Baseball. To hit a ball outside the foul lines: fouled twice and then struck out; fouled out to the catcher.
- To become entangled or twisted: The anchor line fouled on a rock.
- To become clogged or obstructed.
foul out
- Sports. To be put out of a game for exceeding the number of permissible fouls.
- To blunder or cause to blunder because of mistakes or poor judgment.
[Middle English, from Old English fūl.]
foully foul'ly adv.foulness foul'ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
