fouls

Noun

foul (plural fouls)

1. A breach of the rules of a game, especially one involving inappropriate contact with an opposing player in order to gain an advantage; for example, tripping someone up in soccer, or contact of any kind in basketball.
   • A second Norwich goal in four minutes arrived after some dire Newcastle defending. Gosling gave the ball away with a sloppy back-pass, allowing Crofts to curl in a cross that the unmarked Morison powered in with a firm, 12-yard header.
     Gosling's plight worsened when he was soon shown a red card for...2011 December 10, Arindam Rej, “Norwich 4 - 2 Newcastle”, in BBC Sport
2. A (usually accidental) contact between a bowler and the lane before the bowler has released the ball.
3. A foul ball, a ball which has been hit outside of the base lines.
   • Jones hit a foul up over the screen.
4. A tangle or entanglement.
   • The baits are now cast clear of the boat, the lead being thrown into the water away from them; for if dropped on the snood, as I have seen done by many unthinking persons who have only been accustomed to chopstick lines, a foul is the natural result.1875, J.C. Wilcocks, The Sea-Fisherman, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., page 62

See all 25 meanings of foul