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# foul

«foul» in Mova's school dictionary: **Very dirty, smelly or unpleasant: «a foul smell»** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 2 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adjective (foul, fouler, foulest); noun (a foul, fouls); verb (foul, fouls, fouled, fouling)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Very dirty, smelly or unpleasant: «a foul smell». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foul/#m1)

2) (in sport) An action that breaks the rules, like tripping or pushing another player. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foul/#m2)

3) (verb) To break a rule against a player in a game. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foul/#m3)

4) (verb) To make something dirty: «Dogs must not foul the park». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foul/#m4)

5) (of weather or mood) Very bad: «foul weather», «a foul temper». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foul/#m5)

6) Rude: «foul language». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foul/#m6)

### sense in the lessons

In sport (football/soccer, basketball, netball) a foul gives the other team a free kick, a free throw or a penalty. In everyday safety: a foul smell can warn of rotten food or gas. Phrases: «commit a foul», «foul play» (cheating, or a crime), «foul weather», «foul language», «fall foul of» (get into trouble with).

### examples

- The rubbish bin has a foul smell. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foul/#x1)
- The referee blew the whistle for a foul. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foul/#x2)
- He was fouled just outside the box. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foul/#x3)
- Please clean up after your dog so it does not foul the path. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foul/#x4)
- We stayed inside because of the foul weather. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foul/#x5)
- Foul language is not allowed in class. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foul/#x6)
- She was in a foul mood after losing her keys. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foul/#x7)
- In basketball, after five fouls a player must leave the game. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foul/#x8)
- The foul vapour of the beast and horror at its strangeness now overcame the prince, and he fainted. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foul/#x9)

### note

Homophone: «fowl» (a bird like a chicken) sounds the same — «foul» is bad/dirty, «fowl» is a bird. Comparative: fouler, foulest. In baseball «a foul ball» is a ball hit outside the lines.

### In the corpora

- [Faking a foul in sport (diving) is cheating and can get a yellow card.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/200-cheating-in-games/19/)
- [And the rivers shall become foul; the streams of Egypt shall be minished and dried up; the reeds and flags shall wither.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/jps/ISA.389/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «foul» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foul/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.