Definitions for foul
faʊlfoul

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:5.0 / 2 votes

1. fouladjective

   an act that violates the rules of a sport

2. disgusting, disgustful, distasteful, foul, loathly, loathsome, repellent, repellant, repelling, revolting, skanky, wicked, yuckyadjective

   highly offensive; arousing aversion or disgust

   "a disgusting smell"; "distasteful language"; "a loathsome disease"; "the idea of eating meat is repellent to me"; "revolting food"; "a wicked stench"

3. fetid, foetid, foul, foul-smelling, funky, noisome, smelly, stinking, ill-scentedadjective

   offensively malodorous

   "a foul odor"; "the kitchen smelled really funky"

4. cheating(a), dirty, foul, unsporting, unsportsmanlikeadjective

   violating accepted standards or rules

   "a dirty fighter"; "used foul means to gain power"; "a nasty unsporting serve"; "fined for unsportsmanlike behavior"

5. fouladjective

   (of a baseball) not hit between the foul lines

6. dirty, foul, marked-upadjective

   (of a manuscript) defaced with changes

   "foul (or dirty) copy"

7. cruddy, filthy, foul, nasty, smuttyadjective

   characterized by obscenity

   "had a filthy mouth"; "foul language"; "smutty jokes"

8. filthy, foul, nastyadjective

   disgustingly dirty; filled or smeared with offensive matter

   "as filthy as a pigsty"; "a foul pond"; "a nasty pigsty of a room"

9. afoul(ip), foul, fouledverb

   especially of a ship's lines etc

   "with its sails afoul"; "a foul anchor"

10. foulverb

    hit a foul ball

11. pollute, foul, contaminateverb

    make impure

    "The industrial wastes polluted the lake"

12. clog, choke off, clog up, back up, congest, choke, foulverb

    become or cause to become obstructed

    "The leaves clog our drains in the Fall"; "The water pipe is backed up"

13. foulverb

    commit a foul; break the rules

14. foul, befoul, defile, maculateverb

    spot, stain, or pollute

    "The townspeople defiled the river by emptying raw sewage into it"

15. foulverb

    make unclean

    "foul the water"

16. foulverb

    become soiled and dirty

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. FOULadjective

   Etymology: fuls, Gothick; ful, Saxon.

   1. Not clean; filthy; dirty; miry. Through most of its significations it is opposed to fair.

   My face is foul with weeping. Job xvi. 16.

   It’s monstrous labour when I wash my brain,
   And it grows fouler. William Shakespeare, Ant. and Cleopatra.

   He that can travel in deep and foul ways, ought not to say that he cannot walk in fair. John Tillotson, Sermons.

   The stream is foul with stains
   Of rushing torrents and descending rains. Addison.

   2. Impure; polluted; full of filth.

   With foul mouth,
   And in the witness of his proper ear,
   To call him villain. William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure.

   Kill thy physician, and the fee bestow
   Upon the foul disease. William Shakespeare, King Lear.

   Intemperance and sensuality debase mens minds, clog their spirits, and make them gross, foul, listless and unactive. John Tillotson.

   3. Wicked; detestable; abominable.

   Jesus rebuked the foul spirit. Mar. ix. 25.

   He hates foul leasings in vile flattery,
   Two filthy blots in noble gentery. Hubberd’s Tale.

   This is the grossest and most irrational supposition, as well as the foulest atheism, that can be imagined. Matthew Hale.

   Satire has always shone among the rest,
   And is the boldest way, if not the best,
   To tell men truly of their foulest faults,
   To laugh at their vain deeds, and vainer thoughts. Dryden.

   4. Not lawful; not according to the established rules.

   By foul play were we heav’d thence,
   But blessedly help’d hither. William Shakespeare, Tempest.

   5. Hateful; ugly; loathsome.

   Th’ other half did woman’s shape retain,
   Most loathsom, filthy, foul, and full of vile disdain. F. Qu.

   Hast thou forgot
   The foul witch Sycorax, who with age and envy
   Was grown into a hoop? William Shakespeare, Tempest.

   Foul sights do rather displease, in that they excite the memory of foul things than in the immediate objects; and therefore, in pictures, those foul sights do not much offend. Francis Bacon.

   6. Disgraceful; shameful.

   Too well I see and rue the dire event,
   That with sad overthrow and foul defeat
   Hath lost us heav’n. John Milton, Paradise Lost, b. i.

   Who first seduc’d them to that foul revolt? John Milton, P. Lost.

   Reason half extinct,
   Or impotent, or else approving, sees
   The foul disorder. James Thomson, Spring.

   7. Coarse; gross.

   You will have no notion of delicacies, if you table with them: they are all for rank and foul feeding, and spoil the best provisions in cooking. Henry Felton, on the Classicks.

   8. Full of gross humours, or bad matter; wanting purgation or mundification.

   You perceive the body of our kingdom,
   How foul it is; what rank diseases grow,
   And with what danger near the heart of it. William Shakespeare, H. IV.

   9. Not bright; not serene.

   Who’s there besides foul weather?
   One minded like the weather, most inquietly. William Shakespeare, K. Lear.

   Be fair or foul, or rain or shine,
   The joys I have profess’d, in spite of fate are mine. Dryd.

   10. With rough force; with unseasonable violence.

   So in this throng bright Sacharissa far’d,
   Oppress’d by those who strove to be her guard:
   As ships, though never so obsequious, fall
   Foul in a tempest on their admiral. Edmund Waller.

   In his sallies their men might fall foul of each other. Edward Hyde.

   The great art of the devil, and the principal deceit of the heart, is to keep fair with God himself, while men fall foul upon his laws. Robert South, Sermons.

   11. [Among seamen.] Entangled: as, a rope is foul of the anchor.

2. To Foulverb

   To daub; to bemire; to make filthy; to dirty.

   Etymology: fulan, Saxon.

   Sweep and cleanse your walks from autumnal leaves, lest the worms draw them into their holes, and foul your gardens. John Evelyn, Kalendar.

   While Traulus all his ordure scatters,
   To foul the man he chiefly flatters. Jonathan Swift.

   She fouls a smock more in one hour than the kitchen-maid doth in a week. Jonathan Swift, Directions to Servants.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. foul

   Foul refers to a wrongful, disgusting, or offensive action, behavior, condition or substance, typically violating established rules or norms. Depending on its context, it can refer to an unjust action in sports, unpleasant taste, smell or language, or a state of pollution or contamination.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Foulnoun

   a bird

2. Foul

   covered with, or containing, extraneous matter which is injurious, noxious, offensive, or obstructive; filthy; dirty; not clean; polluted; nasty; defiled; as, a foul cloth; foul hands; a foul chimney; foul air; a ship's bottom is foul when overgrown with barnacles; a gun becomes foul from repeated firing; a well is foul with polluted water

3. Foul

   scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive; as, foul words; foul language

4. Foul

   hateful; detestable; shameful; odious; wretched

5. Foul

   loathsome; disgusting; as, a foul disease

6. Foul

   ugly; homely; poor

7. Foul

   not favorable; unpropitious; not fair or advantageous; as, a foul wind; a foul road; cloudy or rainy; stormy; not fair; -- said of the weather, sky, etc

8. Foul

   not conformed to the established rules and customs of a game, conflict, test, etc.; unfair; dishonest; dishonorable; cheating; as, foul play

9. Foul

   having freedom of motion interfered with by collision or entanglement; entangled; -- opposed to clear; as, a rope or cable may get foul while paying it out

10. Foulverb

    to make filthy; to defile; to daub; to dirty; to soil; as, to foul the face or hands with mire

11. Foulverb

    to incrust (the bore of a gun) with burnt powder in the process of firing

12. Foulverb

    to cover (a ship's bottom) with anything that impered its sailing; as, a bottom fouled with barnacles

13. Foulverb

    to entangle, so as to impede motion; as, to foul a rope or cable in paying it out; to come into collision with; as, one boat fouled the other in a race

14. Foulverb

    to become clogged with burnt powder in the process of firing, as a gun

15. Foulverb

    to become entagled, as ropes; to come into collision with something; as, the two boats fouled

16. Foulnoun

    an entanglement; a collision, as in a boat race

17. Foulnoun

    see Foul ball, under Foul, a

18. Etymology: [See Fowl.]

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Foul

   A foul in association football is an unfair act by a player which is deemed by the referee to contravene Law 12 of the Laws of the Game. For an act to be a foul it must: ⁕be a specific offence listed in Law 12 of the Laws of the Game; ⁕be committed by a player; ⁕occur on the field of play; ⁕be committed against an opponent, when applicable; ⁕occur while the ball is in play. As can be seen from the above not all infractions of the Laws are fouls, rather they may constitute – and be punished as – technical infractions and/or misconduct. 'Misconduct,' in association football, is any conduct by a player that is deemed by the referee to warrant a disciplinary sanction in accordance with Law 12 of the Laws of the Game. Misconduct may occur at any time, including when the ball is out of play, during half-time and before and after the game, and both players and substitutes may be sanctioned for misconduct. This is unlike a foul, which is committed by a player, on the field of play, and only against an opponent when the ball is in play.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Foul

   fowl, adj. filthy: loathsome: obscene: impure: stormy: unfair: running against: distressing, pernicious: choked up, entangled: (Shak.) homely, ugly.—v.t. to make foul: to soil: to effect a collision.—v.i. to come into collision:—pr.p. foul′ing; pa.p. fouled.—n. act of fouling: any breach of the rules in games or contests.—adj. Foul′-faced (Shak.), having a hatefully ugly face.—n. Foul′-fish, fish during the spawning season.—adv. Foul′ly.—adjs. Foul′-mouthed, Foul′-spok′en, addicted to the use of foul or profane language.—ns. Foul-mouthed′ness; Foul′ness; Foul′-play, unfair action in any game or contest, dishonest dealing generally.—Claim a foul, to assert that the recognised rules have been broken, and that a victory is therefore invalid; Fall foul of, to come against: to assault; Make foul water, used of a ship, to come into such shallow water that the keel raises the mud. [A.S. fúl; Ger. faul, Goth. fûls.]

Dictionary of Nautical TermsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. foul

   Generally used in opposition to clear, and implies entangled, embarrassed, or contrary to: as "a ship ran foul of us," that is, entangled herself among our rigging. Also, to contaminate in any way.

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. FOUL

   What does FOUL stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the FOUL acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

Matched Categories

1. • Baseball
   • Change
   • Dirty
   • Disgrace
   • Hit
   • Obstruct
   • Play

How to pronounce foul?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say foul in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of foul in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of foul in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of foul in a Sentence

1. Roger Glasgow:

   We have always suspected foul play was involved and this discovery strengthens that belief, if there is a perpetrator, we want him brought to justice.

2. Frank Biden:

   I remember years ago an accountant said,' You know, you can charge( The Senate) part of the gas you use in the vehicle at your home.' And I said,' No,' here's how I look at it : The foul line is 15 feet away from the basket. Never get me closer than 17 feet, because it really is a matter of the public trust.

3. Jake Cronenworth:

   I thought it was going foul, i guess I got surprised.

4. Bob Melvin:

   He said he did. I didn’t think he did, and then in the meantime Rhino was telling me after talking to our replay that it was a foul ball and he thought he was talking to him and threw Rhino out. So I was trying to defend Rhino and tell him that he was telling me that it was a foul ball, not him, and I stayed out there too long. I shouldn’t have gotten thrown out but I was trying to defend Rhino.

5. Flo Thamba:

   I’ll be more than fine. I’ll be good, we had practices in the summer, so I can last longer in a game. I’m still going to be aggressive, I’m still going to be physical. It’s more of the aspect of playing smarter. You have to avoid situations where you know you’re going to get a foul call. As far as my physicality and intensity, that’s not going to change.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=foul
2. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=foul
3. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
4. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/foul
5. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=foul
6. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=foul
7. ^ Dictionary of Nautical Terms
   https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/26000/pg26000-images.html#:~:text=foul