foot fault

noun

Definition of foot fault

: an infraction of the service rules (as in tennis, racquetball, or volleyball) that results from illegal placement of the server's feet

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footfault

play \ˈfu̇t-ˌfȯlt\ intransitive verb

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Recent Examples of foot fault from the Web

But with Barsemian serving, he was called for a rare foot fault to give the Indians back the lead, 24-23.

— jeff tully, latimes.com, "Burroughs volleyball still has Crescenta Valley's number," 7 Apr. 2018
Serving at 5-6, 15-30 in a tight semifinal with Kim Clijsters, Serena was called for a debatable foot fault and went on a rant that made John McEnroe blush.

— chris chase, For The Win, "The 15 moments that have defined Serena Williams' career (so far)," 9 Mar. 2018
Serena was assessed a point penalty which ended the match (the foot fault had brought on match point for Clijsters) and started a wave of controversy for which Serena has still never taken full responsibility.

— chris chase, For The Win, "The 15 moments that have defined Serena Williams' career (so far)," 9 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'foot fault.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.