Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use foul in a sentence

40 example sentences · adjective, verb, noun

Foul means covered with, or containing unclean matter; dirty. Example: “This cloth is too foul to use as a duster.”

Examples of foul by meaning

adjectiveCovered with, or containing unclean matter; dirty.

  • This cloth is too foul to use as a duster.
  • His foul hands got dirt all over the kitchen.
  • The air was so foul nobody could breathe.

adjectiveObscene, vulgar or abusive.

  • The rascal spewed forth a series of foul words.
  • His foul language causes many people to believe he is uneducated.

adjectiveDetestable, unpleasant, loathsome.

  • He has a foul set of friends.
  • Cultural norms and social rules regulate whether someone can be among others or will be isolated, whether the sick will be considered foul or acceptable, and whether they are to be pitied or censured.1982 March 18, Eric J. Cassel[l], “The Nature of Suffering and the Goals of Medicine”, in The New England Journal of Medicine, volume 306...

adjectiveDisgusting, repulsive; causing disgust.

  • This foul food is making me retch.
  • There was a foul smell coming from the toilet.

adjectiveUnpleasant, stormy or rainy. (of the weather).

  • Some foul weather is brewing.

adjectiveDishonest or not conforming to the established rules and customs of a game, conflict, test, etc.

  • Foul play is not suspected.

adjectiveEntangled and therefore restricting free movement, not clear.

  • We've got a foul anchor.
  • A rope could get foul while it is being paid out.

adjective(with "of") Positioned on, in, or near enough to (a specified area) so as to obstruct it.

  • Ten of the freight train's wagons had derailed, two of them foul of the Down Fast.2026 March 18, Greg Morse, “1996 crash driving freight reforms”, in RAIL, number 1057, page 50

More sentences with foul

  • If the player fails to hit the ball on, it's a foul.From the entry on
  • When will we learn to distinguish between the fair and the foul?From the entry fair
  • The referee called a personal foul, when he clotheslined the running back.From the entry clothesline
  • This Russian drink tastes foul, but it kicks like a mule.From the entry kick like a mule
  • We lost several hours having to tack into a foul wind just off the coast.From the entry foul wind
  • He parked in my space, but I was away at the time: no harm, no foul.From the entry no harm, no foul
  • If you don't get your choux pastry just right, the profiteroles will taste foul.From the entry choux pastry
  • If Jones hadn't been sent off for a foul, they'd've won easily.From the entry they'd've
  • The gloves are off in this match; both teams are purposely committing fouls against opposing players!From the entry gloves are off
  • The foul ball hit me on the head. I didn't see it coming.From the entry see coming
  • A foul cannot be awarded while the ball is out of play.From the entry out of play
  • The kick is taken from where the foul occurred.From the entry take
  • Once the ball crosses the foul line, it's dead.From the entry dead
  • Jones caught the foul up against the screen.From the entry screen
  • He fouled out to lead off the third.From the entry foul out
  • The center has fouled out with only two points.From the entry foul out
  • It's a foul ball, up four rows of seats.From the entry foul ball
  • The catcher held onto the foul tick for the out.From the entry foul tick
  • The foul tip hit the umpire in the shoulder.From the entry foul tip
  • Quite sporting of you to call that foul on yourself.From the entry sporting
  • I fouled up question 3 of the exam.From the entry foul up
  • Hurry up and clear that foul anchor line!From the entry anchor line
  • She called foul on their scheme.From the entry call
  • He has such a foul disposition.From the entry disposition
  • You really fouled up this time.From the entry foul up
  • Deke mashed a wad of stinkbait onto the treble hook, then rinsed his fingers in the water to reduce the foul stench before lifting his beer can.From the entry stinkbait

Meaning of foul

  1. adjective Covered with, or containing unclean matter; dirty.
  2. adjective Obscene, vulgar or abusive.
  3. adjective Detestable, unpleasant, loathsome.

Full definition of foul

Questions about foul in a sentence

How do you use foul in a sentence?
Foul is used as an adjective, verb and noun. For example: “This cloth is too foul to use as a duster.”
What is a short sentence with foul?
“Foul play is not suspected.”
What does foul mean?
Foul means covered with, or containing unclean matter; dirty.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: foul (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use foul in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/foul. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.