cry foul

phrase

: to complain that someone has done something unfair

crying foul over the change in the rules

Examples of cry foul in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

As the nation watches to see how the elections unfold on Tuesday night, election experts advise voters against listening to politicians who cry foul without offering evidence of fraud as ballots are being cast or counted. — Kathryn Watson, CBS News, 3 Nov. 2026

The middle-of-the-pack mainstay fell back to its outer perimeter with a samba that had the judges crying foul. — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Oct. 2026

Mathematicians are crying foul, said Zeynep Tufekci in The New York Times. — The Week Us, TheWeek, 13 Oct. 2026

In a world full of gaslighters who cry foul over a gambling commercial, be more like Charley Hull and Sydney Sweeney. — Zach Dean Outkick, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1839, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for cry foul

• afoul
• wildfowl
• foule
• fowl
• growl
• howl
• jowl
• owl
• prowl
• scowl
• waterfowl