[foul] adj [ME, fr. OE ful; akin to OHG ful rotten, L pus pus, putere to stink, Gk pyon pus] (bef. 12c) 1 a: offensive to the senses: loathsome b: filled or covered with offensive matter
2: full of dirt or mud 3 a: morally or spiritually odious: detestable "a ~ crime" b: notably unpleasant or distressing: wretched, horrid "in a ~ mood"
4: obscene, abusive "~ language"
5. a: being wet and stormy b: obstructive to navigation "a ~ tide"
6. dial Brit: homely, ugly
7. a: treacherous, dishonorable "fair means or ~" b: constituting an infringement of rules in a game or sport "a ~ blow in boxing" 8: containing marked-up corrections "~ manuscript" "~ proofs" 9: encrusted, clogged, or choked with a foreign substance "the chimney was ~ and smoked badly" 10: being odorous and impure: polluted "~ air" 11: placed in a situation that impedes physical movement: entangled 12: being outside the foul lines in baseball syn see dirty -- foul.ly adv -- foul.ness n
[2]foul n (bef. 12c) 1 archaic: something foul
2: an entanglement or collision esp. in angling or sailing 3 a: an infringement of the rules in a game or sport b: free throw
4: foul ball [3]foul vi (bef. 12c) 1: to become or be foul: as a: decompose, rot b: to become encrusted, clogged, or choked with a foreign substance c: to become entangled or come into collision
2: to commit a violation of the rules in a sport or game
3: to hit a foul ball ~ vt 1: to make foul: as a: to make dirty: pollute b: to tangle or come into collision with c: to encrust with a foreign substance "a ship's bottom ~ed with barnacles" d: obstruct, block
2: dishonor, discredit
3: to commit a foul against
4: to hit (a baseball) foul [4]foul adv (13c): in a foul manner: so as to be foul