'To fall foul' definitions:

Definition of 'To fall foul'

From: GCIDE
  • Foul \Foul\ (foul), a. [Compar. Fouler (-[~e]r); superl. Foulest.] [OE. foul, ful, AS. f[=u]l; akin to D. vuil, G. faul rotten, OHG. f[=u]l, Icel. f[=u]l foul, fetid; Dan. fuul, Sw. ful foul, Goth. f[=u]ls fetid, Lith. puti to be putrid, L. putere to stink, be putrid, pus pus, Gr. py`on pus, to cause to rot, Skr. p[=u]y to stink. [root]82. Cf. Defile to foul, File to foul, Filth, Pus, Putrid.]
  • 1. 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. [1913 Webster]
  • My face is foul with weeping. --Job. xvi. 16. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. Scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive; as, foul words; foul language. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. Hateful; detestable; shameful; odious; wretched. "The foul with Sycorax." --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • Who first seduced them to that foul revolt? --Milton. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. Loathsome; disgusting; as, a foul disease. [1913 Webster]
  • 5. Ugly; homely; poor. [Obs.] --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]
  • Let us, like merchants, show our foulest wares. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 6. 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. [1913 Webster]
  • So foul a sky clears not without a storm. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 7. Not conformed to the established rules and customs of a game, conflict, test, etc.; unfair; dishonest; dishonorable; cheating; as, foul play. [1913 Webster]
  • 8. 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. [1913 Webster]
  • Foul anchor. (Naut.) See under Anchor.
  • Foul ball (Baseball), a ball that first strikes the ground outside of the foul ball lines, or rolls outside of certain limits.
  • Foul ball lines (Baseball), lines from the home base, through the first and third bases, to the boundary of the field.
  • Foul berth (Naut.), a berth in which a ship is in danger of fouling another vesel.
  • Foul bill, or Foul bill of health, a certificate, duly authenticated, that a ship has come from a place where a contagious disorder prevails, or that some of the crew are infected.
  • Foul copy, a rough draught, with erasures and corrections; -- opposed to fair or clean copy. "Some writers boast of negligence, and others would be ashamed to show their foul copies." --Cowper.
  • Foul proof, an uncorrected proof; a proof containing an excessive quantity of errors.
  • Foul strike (Baseball), a strike by the batsman when any part of his person is outside of the lines of his position.
  • To fall foul, to fall out; to quarrel. [Obs.] "If they be any ways offended, they fall foul." --Burton.
  • To fall foul of or To run foul of. See under Fall.
  • To make foul water, to sail in such shallow water that the ship's keel stirs the mud at the bottom. [1913 Webster]

Words containing 'To fall foul'