How to Use foul in a Sentence

foul

1 of 4 adjective
Definition of foulnext
Synonyms for foulnext
  • The medicine left a foul taste in my mouth.
  • The weather has been foul all week.
  • The ankel didn't put him on the bench, but rather foul trouble.
    — Richard Obert, The Arizona Republic, 29 Dec. 2022
  • But the foul-mouthed raccoon takes the spotlight for the first time in Vol.
    — Devan Coggan, EW.com, 15 Dec. 2022
  • In the second half, the foul calls were 14 on the Razorbacks and eight on the Bears.
    — Bob Holt, Arkansas Online, 29 Jan. 2023
  • The 33-year-old also has one of the highest foul rates of any big man in the league.
    — Bryan Toporek, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2023
  • Maybe foul a little less, but that’s how the league is.
    — Duane Rankin, The Arizona Republic, 1 Jan. 2023
  • The Lions went into foul mode and USD put the game away at the free-throw line.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Feb. 2023
  • But a full-court trap and foul game wasn’t fruitful enough.
    — Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 10 Mar. 2024
  • At times, the Frogs charged the rim, hoping to convert a tough layup or draw a foul call.
    — Dallas News, 20 Feb. 2023
  • Lamar Steven celebrates the bucket and the foul in a March game.
    — David Petkiewicz, cleveland, 30 Dec. 2022
  • Lemahieu reached and poked a four-seamer out of the zone just inside the right-field foul pole.
    — Evan Grant, Dallas News, 28 Apr. 2023
  • These easy at-home tricks might get the smell out of your shoes and prevent foul odors.
    — Dwyer Frame, Health, 31 Oct. 2023
  • Your body will feel better, and your urine won’t smell so foul.
    — Women's Health, 28 Apr. 2023
  • The thing that ties the top four foul drawers together is their style of play.
    — Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 30 Jan. 2024
  • With both teams in the bonus, Iowa has started to foul Indiana.
    — Evan Frank, The Indianapolis Star, 10 Feb. 2023
  • Jones said symptoms to look for are swelling, redness, foul smell and fever.
    — Fox News, 16 Feb. 2023
  • Semien hit a two-run home run off of the left field foul pole one inning later to make it 11-0.
    — Shawn McFarland, Dallas News, 2 Aug. 2023
  • After a look at the replay, the umpire ruled that the ball did hit the foul pole for a home run and sent Stanton around to score.
    — Victoria Hernandez, USA TODAY, 8 July 2023
  • She was charged with her third foul midway through the second and was subbed out as a result.
    — Lia Assimakopoulos, Anchorage Daily News, 3 Apr. 2023
  • The event consists of a fan randomly picked to try and beat The Freeze in a race along the warning track from foul pole to foul pole.
    — oregonlive, 21 July 2023
  • One fan in the field-level seats near the right field foul pole, turning to face the crowd, encouraged others to join the chant.
    — Sarah Valenzuela, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2023
  • Temple's torching of the Bearcats on the boards was in part due to Viktor Lakhin being in foul trouble.
    — Scott Springer, The Enquirer, 1 Jan. 2023
  • Wade, battling foul trouble, scored zero points in the first half against Holy Cross.
    — Jr Radcliffe, Journal Sentinel, 20 Jan. 2023
  • Scotty Brennan stepped to the foul stripe with 13 seconds left in a tie game and knocked down a pair to give Los Gatos a two-point lead.
    — Glenn Reeves, The Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2024
  • Melendez smashed a one-out solo home run just in side the right field foul pole against Xavion Curry in the ninth.
    — Joe Noga, cleveland, 26 July 2023
  • Replace flour with a foul, musty, or sour odor or if the texture and coloring have changed.
    — Perri Ormont Blumberg, Southern Living, 20 July 2023
  • Still, there may have been a silver lining to the foul weather, said Mayekar, the former deputy mayor.
    — Isis Almeida, Fortune, 3 July 2023
  • And that was a victory for the cause of freedom, which never has enough foul-weather friends.
    — Neal B. Freeman, National Review, 10 Feb. 2023
  • What to know Is a Glendale golf course supervisor wrongly taking the fall in court for foul stench?
    — Corina Vanek, The Arizona Republic, 6 Mar. 2024
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foul

2 of 4 noun
  • He hit several fouls in a row.
  • The first three went for strikes — two fouls and a whiff.
    — Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press, 7 June 2023
  • And if the ref don’t call a foul and you get hurt, that’s your problem.
    — Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 19 Aug. 2023
  • The Rams didn’t have a foul whistled against them until 6:06 left in the first half.
    — Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Jan. 2024
  • Two more fouls wrapped around a ball, which sailed high and outside, had the count full.
    — Julian McWilliams, BostonGlobe.com, 19 Aug. 2023
  • Van der Horst was whistled on the play, and headed to the bench with her fifth foul.
    — Chris Bieri, Anchorage Daily News, 26 Mar. 2023
  • No more calling fouls in the last minute of a playoff game.
    — Nawal Arjini, The New York Review of Books, 30 Sep. 2023
  • But before the Wolves could take a shot, Blair stole the ball in the paint and drew a foul with three seconds left.
    — Darren Sabedra, The Mercury News, 31 Jan. 2024
  • Players are assessed two points for a flagrant-2 foul, and one point for a flagrant-1.
    — Tania Ganguli, New York Times, 19 Apr. 2023
  • Kanellos drove to the basket and drew a foul with 5.1 seconds left.
    — Steve Millar, Chicago Tribune, 13 Mar. 2023
  • Jordan Lee stole the ball with only a few seconds left and drew the foul.
    — Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News, 21 Jan. 2024
  • In this instance, in their judgment, the contact did not rise to the level of a foul.
    — Mary Kay Cabot, cleveland, 19 Sep. 2023
  • Bam Adebayo leads the Heat with 22 points and eight rebounds, but has three fouls.
    — Steve Gardner, USA TODAY, 2 June 2023
  • Two fouls at the end of the quarter on Perry sent him to the bench and slowed the Wolverines’ momentum.
    — Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2024
  • Gabe Vincent and Max Strus have three fouls each, and combined for just 2 points.
    — Anthony Gharib, USA TODAY, 10 June 2023
  • The most famous foul, and free throw, in school history.
    — Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Dec. 2023
  • Then came a bad foul on a 3-point shot, with all free throws going in, to keep Kansas State alive.
    — Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY, 22 Feb. 2024
  • Perry did all of his last-minute heroics with four fouls.
    — Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2024
  • Eckert won the draw to start overtime, and Larsen drew a foul to give herself a chance at the winning goal.
    — James Weber, The Enquirer, 26 May 2023
  • Sandy reading, into his windup and the strike one pitch: curveball, tapped foul, Oh and two.
    — Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2023
  • Kids sat poised in the stands with their mitts, eager to do their part and catch opposing team’s fouls.
    — Annika Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 24 July 2023
  • Purdue has 4 turnovers already, and Zach Edey picks up his 1st foul.
    — Scott Horner, The Indianapolis Star, 18 Mar. 2023
  • The Aztecs made the game ugly, beat the Tide to the floor on loose balls and benefited from a pair of fouls on Brandon Miller.
    — Nick Alvarez | [email protected], al, 24 Mar. 2023
  • The game went back and forth in the final minutes, as Indiana was up 88-87 when it was called for a foul.
    — Chloe Peterson, The Indianapolis Star, 28 May 2023
  • Not long after, Yarnevich went to the bench after picking up her fourth foul.
    — Jacob Steinberg, Baltimore Sun, 10 Mar. 2023
  • The tone of the game was set with 2:51 left in the first quarter, when Jokic got his second foul and joined Aaron Gordon on the bench.
    — Time, 13 June 2023
  • The league noted that referees can also call fouls and flops on the same play.
    — oregonlive, 11 July 2023
  • Doncic missed a layup, but waved his arms in disbelief that a foul wasn’t called.
    — Brad Townsend, Dallas News, 22 Mar. 2023
  • When Forbes went to the bench at the end of the third quarter with her third foul, Baylor went on a 6-0 run to take a four-point lead into the fourth quarter.
    — Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2024
  • Milicic connected on seven of his 11 shots and drew five fouls, sinking a pair of clutch free throws and collecting a key defensive rebound to get Charlotte back in the win column.
    — Hunter Bailey, Charlotte Observer, 7 Mar. 2024
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foul

3 of 4 verb
  • He was fouled as he attempted the shot.
  • She fouled on her first long jump attempt.
  • He kept fouling pitches into the stands.
  • With time in the game winding down, the Heat were forced to foul.
    — Emmett Hall, Sun Sentinel, 30 Aug. 2022
  • O’Neale stays in front, doesn’t foul, contests the shot.
    — The Salt Lake Tribune, 27 Jan. 2022
  • But the Saints were forced to foul and could get no closer.
    — John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Mar. 2022
  • The Seattle Mariners shortstop fouled off the fifth pitch.
    — Lamond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 18 June 2023
  • But the Bonnies had to foul Holmes, who made two more free throws.
    — Mitch Stacy, USA TODAY, 3 Feb. 2024
  • The Crimson Panthers were forced to foul and couldn’t pull out the win.
    — al, 25 Nov. 2022
  • But as this was still the ICE age, the mass adoption of car use fouled the air.
    — Carlton Reid, WIRED, 14 Oct. 2023
  • The Blazers kept fouling, and the Heat already was in the bonus with 7:58 left.
    — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 28 Feb. 2024
  • Cole, again, went up and in with his fastball and Reyes fouled it off.
    — Julian McWilliams, BostonGlobe.com, 19 Aug. 2023
  • Suns guard Grayson Allen was fouled by Fox to stop the clock with 18.1 seconds left.
    — Chris Biderman, Sacramento Bee, 14 Feb. 2024
  • But Carroll was forced to foul, and Coppell put the game away at the free throw line.
    — Dallas News, 24 Feb. 2023
  • Woods made 11 of 14, many of those coming late as the Wolverines were forced to foul.
    — Richard Obert, The Arizona Republic, 3 Mar. 2022
  • Atlanta then fouled Kelsey Mitchell, who made a free throw to close the scoring.
    — Chloe Peterson, The Indianapolis Star, 28 Aug. 2023
  • Green caught the ball in the corner behind the arc and went up, but was fouled by Georges Niang.
    — Sportsday Staff, Dallas News, 30 Mar. 2023
  • There was a lot of hand-checking the whole game, a lot of fouling going on.
    — Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Dec. 2023
  • In his first at-bat Thursday, Betts fouled a ball off the inside of his foot.
    — Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2023
  • The mistake forced the Frogs to foul late, allowing the Horns to stay ahead as time expired.
    — Dallas News, 11 Jan. 2023
  • That pulled Benet within 44-39, but the Redwings were out of timeouts and had to foul.
    — Matt Le Cren, chicagotribune.com, 3 Mar. 2022
  • The Lakers also don’t foul much — their 16.4 per game after the All-Star break was the league best.
    — Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2023
  • When play resumed, the Jazz did not foul, but did play full-court defense.
    — Eric Walden, The Salt Lake Tribune, 10 Dec. 2022
  • Villanova's Justin Moore grabbed the rebound and Xavier was forced to foul.
    — Adam Baum, The Enquirer, 13 Jan. 2022
  • With the Jazz having a 3-point lead and eight seconds left, Snyder told the Jazz to foul to force the Rockets to go to the free-throw line.
    — Andy Larsen, The Salt Lake Tribune, 2 Mar. 2022
  • Mark blocked a three-point attempt by Taylor, who then fouled him.
    — Bob Holt, arkansasonline.com, 17 Jan. 2024
  • In the eightieth minute, Shaw was fouled by a French defender and went down in pain.
    — Naaman Zhou, The New Yorker, 28 July 2023
  • Dutcher didn’t have a timeout, but his players were in front of the bench and were told to foul if Bradley made both to put the Aztecs up three.
    — Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Feb. 2022
  • Sandoval fouled off four straight pitches before striking out on a foul tip.
    — Jerry McDonald, The Mercury News, 27 Mar. 2024
  • Missouri got into foul trouble in the second half, losing big man Jordan Butler to fouls with 10 minutes to go.
    — Dave Skretta, USA TODAY, 21 Feb. 2024
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foul

4 of 4 adverb
  • The force of the foul sent Caruso crashing to the court.
    — Julia Poe, chicagotribune.com, 22 Jan. 2022
  • The one-two pitch on the way: curveball, tapped foul off to the left of the plate.
    — Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 4 Aug. 2022
  • But in this case, there was blood -- yet still no foul.
    — Emmett Prosser, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 20 Apr. 2022
  • If it was caught and nerfed right away, no harm no foul.
    — Paul Tassi, Forbes, 2 Oct. 2021
  • The ball might have landed foul if Crum hadn’t touched it.
    — James Weber, The Enquirer, 4 June 2022
  • Collins was called for a flagrant 2 foul and ejected from the game.
    — David Thompson, USA TODAY, 11 Feb. 2022
  • Some fans of Kraftwerk, Gil Scott-Heron and others might cry foul.
    — Troy L. Smith, cleveland, 31 Oct. 2021
  • Then there was the foul called on Iowa's Tony Perkins with 15 seconds left that sent Gilyard to the free-throw line to seal the game.
    — Scott Gleeson, USA TODAY, 17 Mar. 2022
  • Then this year brought new charges, and the defense is crying foul.
    — Tresa Baldas, Detroit Free Press, 15 Sep. 2021
  • The union had cried foul over Amazon's new mailbox ahead of the results.
    — Sara Ashley O'Brien, CNN, 2 Aug. 2021
  • The sink in our primary bathroom has a foul-smelling odor to it.
    — Jeanne Huber, Washington Post, 4 Nov. 2022
  • Here's a video of Alek Manoah trying to blow a Jeremy Peña bunt foul.
    — Ian Harrison, BostonGlobe.com, 5 June 2023
  • The foul-smelling mix of seawater and fuel was washing across the deck.
    — Drew Hinshaw, WSJ, 10 Dec. 2021
  • The group then hurried away from the area while crying foul at the demonstrators.
    — Tim O'Donnell, The Week, 27 July 2021
  • The Wolverines were up 56-50 when there was a loose ball foul away from the play which led to a media timeout.
    — Tony Garcia, Detroit Free Press, 30 Nov. 2022
  • On the other end, Mathurin’s foul sent Washington to the line for two free throws to put the game away.
    — Matthew Vantryon, The Indianapolis Star, 20 Oct. 2022
  • Smith tried to bunt against a shifted infield, pushed it foul, then struck out.
    — Matt Kawahara, San Francisco Chronicle, 29 May 2022
  • Brooks was assessed a Flagrant 2 foul and ejected from the game.
    — C.j. Holmes, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 May 2022
  • The try rolled foul, but Ramírez reached base anyway, lining a double to left.
    — Matt Kawahara, San Francisco Chronicle, 10 June 2022
  • After Acuña protested in right, the umpires huddled and called the ball foul.
    — Charles Odum, sun-sentinel.com, 4 July 2021
  • Kuminga can be a bit foul-prone against crafty scorers.
    — Connor Letourneau, San Francisco Chronicle, 18 May 2022
  • Báez was close to hitting a homer off Reyes, but the ball snuck just foul and was upheld by review.
    — Andy Kostka, Baltimore Sun, 13 May 2022
  • That and the fact that the latex was used to construct foul-looking, dismembered body parts.
    — Scott D. Pierce, The Salt Lake Tribune, 16 Oct. 2022
  • The former Oregon Ducks guard Brooks was hit with a flagrant 2 foul and ejected from the game.
    — oregonlive, 5 May 2022
  • The Celtics were hitting shots, but something smelled foul from the beginning.
    — Gary Washburn, BostonGlobe.com, 4 Mar. 2023
  • But the Tigers erased the Beavers’ 1-0 lead when Djeffal’s foul in the box resulted in a penalty kick.
    — oregonlive, 4 Dec. 2021
  • Cano stayed in the box and hung in against a breaking ball, pulling it foul but swinging with confidence.
    — New York Times, 16 Mar. 2022
  • Now the threat was the foul-smelling dust kicked up by the demolition, which left her coughing and wheezing.
    — Sarah Stillman, The New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2021
  • No foul was called during the game, and the suspension was handed down later that evening.
    — David Thompson, USA TODAY, 10 Mar. 2022
  • With a screen from Fontecchio, Alexander-Walker had a clear lane to the hoop, and seemed destined to take the gimme layup, and play the foul-and-extend game.
    — Eric Walden, The Salt Lake Tribune, 8 Dec. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'foul.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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