foul line
noun
1
: either of two straight lines extending from the rear corner of home plate through the outer corners of first and third base respectively and prolonged to the boundary of a baseball field
2
: a line across a bowling alley that a player must not step over when delivering the ball
3
: either of two lines on a basketball court parallel to and 15 feet from the backboards behind which a player must stand while shooting a free throw
Examples of foul line in a Sentence
The ball landed just inside the right-field foul line.
Recent Examples on the Web
Jimmy Butler finished with a game-high 22 points for the Heat with the help of 8-of-8 shooting from the foul line.
—
Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 6 Apr. 2024
The fences were 20 feet high and 325 feet down the left- and right-field foul lines.
—Joe Davidson, Sacramento Bee, 4 Apr. 2024
Cousy scores 30 of his points from the foul line.
1959 — California edges West Virginia 71-70 for the NCAA basketball championship.
—Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024
Not a team that usually excels by getting to the foul line, the Nuggets attempted 18 free throws in the half, nearly reaching their per-game average (19.9) for the season.
—Bennett Durando, The Denver Post, 17 Mar. 2024
One of the Warriors’ biggest weaknesses defensively is sending too many opponents to the foul line.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 12 Mar. 2024
The Heat fell to 6-12 this season when outscored by its opponent at the foul line and 7-13 this season when attempting fewer free throws than its opponent.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 8 Mar. 2024
Best known for her long 3-pointers, Clark was called on to go to the foul line after Cotie McMahon was assessed a technical for giving her a little push during a dead ball with less than a second to go in the first half.
—CBS News, 3 Mar. 2024
Butler set a new season-high with 37 points on 12-of-19 shooting from the field and 10-of-11 shooting from the foul line to go with three rebounds, seven assists, one steal and one block.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 3 Mar. 2024
Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 6 Apr. 2024
The fences were 20 feet high and 325 feet down the left- and right-field foul lines.
—Joe Davidson, Sacramento Bee, 4 Apr. 2024
Cousy scores 30 of his points from the foul line.
1959 — California edges West Virginia 71-70 for the NCAA basketball championship.
—Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024
Not a team that usually excels by getting to the foul line, the Nuggets attempted 18 free throws in the half, nearly reaching their per-game average (19.9) for the season.
—Bennett Durando, The Denver Post, 17 Mar. 2024
One of the Warriors’ biggest weaknesses defensively is sending too many opponents to the foul line.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 12 Mar. 2024
The Heat fell to 6-12 this season when outscored by its opponent at the foul line and 7-13 this season when attempting fewer free throws than its opponent.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 8 Mar. 2024
Best known for her long 3-pointers, Clark was called on to go to the foul line after Cotie McMahon was assessed a technical for giving her a little push during a dead ball with less than a second to go in the first half.
—CBS News, 3 Mar. 2024
Butler set a new season-high with 37 points on 12-of-19 shooting from the field and 10-of-11 shooting from the foul line to go with three rebounds, seven assists, one steal and one block.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 3 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'foul line.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near foul line
Cite this Entry
“Foul line.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/foul%20line. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
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