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

Thompson made 7 of 9 shots from the field and 2 of 3 at the foul line for 18 points in the third quarter. —CBS News, 11 Jan. 2026

Gabe Dynes, who entered five for 13 at the foul line, made the second of two with 33 seconds left, forcing overtime after Tyson and Ausar missed jumpers. —Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2026

Denver’s Jamal Murray gained possession on the ensuing inbounds and iced the game from the foul line. —Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 8 Jan. 2026

Jalen Brunson finished with 31 points on 10-of-21 shooting from the field, doing much of his damage at the foul line (9-of-12). —Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 4 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1868, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for foul line

• affine
• airline
• align
• aline
• assign
• baseline
• beamline
• benign
• bloodline
• bovine
• byline
• canine

Kids Definition

foul line

noun

1

: either of two straight lines running from the rear corner of home plate through first and third base on to the boundary of a baseball field

2

: a line across which a player must not step (as when bowling or shooting a free throw)