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

Antetokounmpo made 6 of 7 shots from the floor and all three attempts at the foul line for 15 points in the first half. —CBS News, 5 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

White did not miss from inside the arc (6-for-6) or the foul line (9-for-9), offsetting a 2-for-10 showing from 3-point range, and scored 22 points in the second half to help Boston pull away. —Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 31 Dec. 2025

Jaquez was a force, totaling 28 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the field, 1-of-1 shooting on threes and 5-of-5 shooting from the foul line, six rebounds and three assists in the win. —Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 28 Dec. 2025

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)