| English Dictionary |
FOUL
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
| IPA (US): |  |
Dictionary entry overview: What does foul mean?
• FOUL (noun)
The noun FOUL has 1 sense:
1. an act that violates the rules of a sport
Familiarity information: FOUL used as a noun is very rare.
• FOUL (adjective)
The adjective FOUL has 8 senses:
1. highly offensive; arousing aversion or disgust
2. offensively malodorous
3. violating accepted standards or rules
4. (of a baseball) not hit between the foul lines
5. (of a manuscript) defaced with changes
6. characterized by obscenity
7. disgustingly dirty; filled or smeared with offensive matter
8. especially of a ship's lines etc
Familiarity information: FOUL used as an adjective is common.
• FOUL (verb)
The verb FOUL has 7 senses:
1. hit a foul ball
2. make impure
3. become or cause to become obstructed
4. commit a foul; break the rules
5. spot, stain, or pollute
6. make unclean
7. become soiled and dirty
Familiarity information: FOUL used as a verb is common.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
An act that violates the rules of a sport
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("foul" is a kind of...):
infringement; violation (an act that disregards an agreement or a right)
Domain category:
athletics; sport (an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "foul"):
foul ball ((baseball) a ball struck with the bat so that it does not stay between the lines (the foul lines) that define the width of the playing field)
personal foul (a foul that involves unnecessarily rough contact (as in basketball or football))
technical; technical foul ((basketball) a foul that can be assessed on a player or a coach or a team for unsportsmanlike conduct; does not usually involve physical contact during play)
Derivation:
foul (commit a foul; break the rules)
foul (hit a foul ball)
| Declension: comparative and superlative |
Superlative: foulest
Sense 1
Meaning:
Highly offensive; arousing aversion or disgust
Synonyms:
disgustful; disgusting; distasteful; foul; loathly; loathsome; repellant; repellent; repelling; revolting; skanky; wicked; yucky
Context example:
a wicked stench
Similar:
offensive (unpleasant or disgusting especially to the senses)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Offensively malodorous
Synonyms:
fetid; foetid; foul; foul-smelling; funky; ill-scented; noisome; smelly; stinking
Context example:
the kitchen smelled really funky
Similar:
ill-smelling; malodorous; malodourous; stinky; unpleasant-smelling (having an unpleasant smell)
Derivation:
foulness (the attribute of having a strong offensive smell)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Violating accepted standards or rules
Synonyms:
cheating; dirty; foul; unsporting; unsportsmanlike
Context example:
fined for unsportsmanlike behavior
Similar:
unfair; unjust (not fair; marked by injustice or partiality or deception)
Derivation:
foulness (disgusting wickedness and immorality)
Sense 4
Meaning:
(of a baseball) not hit between the foul lines
Similar:
out-of-bounds (outside the foul lines)
Domain category:
ball; baseball; baseball game (a ball game played with a bat and ball between two teams of nine players; teams take turns at bat trying to score runs)
Antonym:
fair ((of a baseball) hit between the foul lines)
Sense 5
Meaning:
(of a manuscript) defaced with changes
Synonyms:
Context example:
foul (or dirty) copy
Similar:
illegible ((of handwriting, print, etc.) not legible)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Characterized by obscenity
Synonyms:
cruddy; filthy; foul; nasty; smutty
Context example:
smutty jokes
Similar:
dirty ((of behavior or especially language) characterized by obscenity or indecency)
Sense 7
Meaning:
Disgustingly dirty; filled or smeared with offensive matter
Synonyms:
Context example:
a nasty pigsty of a room
Similar:
dirty; soiled; unclean (soiled or likely to soil with dirt or grime)
Derivation:
foulness (a state characterized by foul or disgusting dirt and refuse)
Sense 8
Meaning:
Especially of a ship's lines etc
Synonyms:
Context example:
a foul anchor
Similar:
tangled (in a confused mass)
| Conjugation: |
... he / she / it fouls Past simple: fouled
Past participle: fouled
-ing form: fouling
Sense 1
Meaning:
Hit a foul ball
Classified under:
Verbs of fighting, athletic activities
Hypernyms (to "foul" is one way to...):
hit (cause to move by striking)
Domain category:
ball; baseball; baseball game (a ball game played with a bat and ball between two teams of nine players; teams take turns at bat trying to score runs)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "foul"):
foul out (baseball: hit a ball such that it is caught from an out in foul territory)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s
Derivation:
foul (an act that violates the rules of a sport)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Make impure
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Synonyms:
contaminate; foul; pollute
Context example:
The industrial wastes polluted the lake
Hypernyms (to "foul" is one way to...):
begrime; bemire; colly; dirty; grime; soil (make soiled, filthy, or dirty)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "foul"):
infect; taint (contaminate with a disease or microorganism)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Sense 3
Meaning:
Become or cause to become obstructed
Classified under:
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging
Synonyms:
back up; choke; choke off; clog; clog up; congest; foul
Context example:
The water pipe is backed up
Hypernyms (to "foul" is one way to...):
block; close up; impede; jam; obstruct; obturate; occlude (block passage through)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "foul"):
gum up (stick together as if with gum)
crap up (become obstructed or chocked up)
block; choke up; lug; stuff (obstruct)
silt; silt up (become chocked with silt)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Sense 4
Meaning:
Commit a foul; break the rules
Classified under:
Verbs of fighting, athletic activities
Hypernyms (to "foul" is one way to...):
play (participate in games or sport)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "foul"):
hack (kick on the shins)
hack (kick on the arms)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s
Derivation:
foul (an act that violates the rules of a sport)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Spot, stain, or pollute
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Synonyms:
befoul; defile; foul; maculate
Context example:
The townspeople defiled the river by emptying raw sewage into it
Hypernyms (to "foul" is one way to...):
attaint; disgrace; dishonor; dishonour; shame (bring shame or dishonor upon)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something
Sense 6
Meaning:
Make unclean
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Context example:
foul the water
Hypernyms (to "foul" is one way to...):
begrime; bemire; colly; dirty; grime; soil (make soiled, filthy, or dirty)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Sense 7
Meaning:
Become soiled and dirty
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "foul" is one way to...):
change (undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s
Context examples
These covers allow molecules such as carbon dioxide to pass through, while blocking others such as ammonia, which causes the foul odours.
(Scientists validate a new technology that transforms sewage sludge into fertilizer more efficiently, University of Granada)
The seven-spotted ladybird is so easy to see that if every predator had to eat one before they discovered its foul taste, it would have struggled to survive and reproduce.
(Birds learn from each other’s ‘disgust’, enabling insects to evolve bright colours, University of Cambridge)
C. sporogenes is pathogenic and culture is associated with a foul odor.
(Clostridium sporogenes, NCI Thesaurus)
A yellow to brown colored, thick, foul smelling, very toxic oil obtained from the seeds of a tropical plant, Croton Tiglium.
(Croton Oil, NCI Thesaurus)
“I think there’s been foul play,” said Poole, hoarsely.
(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
Jim, says he, I reckon we're fouled, you and me, and we'll have to sign articles.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
He was self-repelled, as though he had undergone some degradation or was intrinsically foul.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
Now, Moran undoubtedly played foul—of that I have long been aware.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
And yet I need not tell you that my mind was far from at ease, and that I was well-nigh certain that some foul plot had been woven round him.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
A horse so treated would develop a slight lameness, which would be put down to a strain in exercise or a touch of rheumatism, but never to foul play.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
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