foot fault

noun

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

footfault

ˈfu̇t-ˌfȯlt 

intransitive verb

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

That’s a sharp contrast to FedEx’s bruising guidance cut just over a month ago, which the company blamed on a weakening global economy, and analysts blamed on idiosyncratic foot faults. —Washington Post, 22 Oct. 2019

She was not bothered that a small foot fault caused her to lose points in the waltz. —Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 26 Nov. 2019

Economic weakness plays a role here, but there are also signs of operational foot faults. —Washington Post, 24 Oct. 2019

Newsletter Sign-up For Williams, the transformation from smooth victory to unprecedented defeat began when she was called for a foot fault on the first serve of her first match point. —Tom Perrotta, WSJ, 23 Jan. 2019

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, 7 Apr. 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, 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, USA TODAY, 9 Mar. 2018

Newsletter Sign-up For Williams, the transformation from smooth victory to unprecedented defeat began when she was called for a foot fault on the first serve of her first match point. —Tom Perrotta, WSJ, 23 Jan. 2019

See More

Word History

First Known Use

1886, in the meaning defined above