fall/run afoul of
idiom
chiefly US
: to get into trouble because of not obeying or following (the law, a rule, etc.)
After leaving home he fell afoul of the law.
an investor who has run afoul of stock market rules
Examples of fall/run afoul of in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In recent months, the NIH has terminated grants that run afoul of the government’s positions on diversity and gender, and shut off funding to entire research universities.
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Daniel Engber, The Atlantic, 20 May 2025
Of course the new kids immediately befriend the local outcasts, awkward nerd Marcel (Nicolas Cantu) and not-so-bad-boy Curtis (Uriah Shelton), and run afoul of the popular crowd, led by a Porsche-driving bully named Harris (Josh Macqueen).
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 19 May 2025
In at least two other states, Musk’s companies have run afoul of regulators and have been cited or fined for allegedly breaking environmental rules — Tesla in California, and SpaceX and The Boring Co. in Texas.
—Stephanie Gosk, NBC news, 15 May 2025
Trump had campaigned on ending taxes on Social Security benefits but that proposal would have run afoul of a special procedure Republicans are using to push through the tax law changes without any Democratic votes.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 13 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for fall/run afoul of
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Daniel Engber, The Atlantic, 20 May 2025
Of course the new kids immediately befriend the local outcasts, awkward nerd Marcel (Nicolas Cantu) and not-so-bad-boy Curtis (Uriah Shelton), and run afoul of the popular crowd, led by a Porsche-driving bully named Harris (Josh Macqueen).
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 19 May 2025
In at least two other states, Musk’s companies have run afoul of regulators and have been cited or fined for allegedly breaking environmental rules — Tesla in California, and SpaceX and The Boring Co. in Texas.
—Stephanie Gosk, NBC news, 15 May 2025
Trump had campaigned on ending taxes on Social Security benefits but that proposal would have run afoul of a special procedure Republicans are using to push through the tax law changes without any Democratic votes.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 13 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for fall/run afoul of
Cite this Entry
“Fall/run afoul of.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fall%2Frun%20afoul%20of. Accessed 29 May. 2025.
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