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

Matas Vokietaitis leads Texas with 23 points and 16 rebounds despite some late troubles at the foul line. —Thomas Jones, Austin American Statesman, 20 Mar. 2026

The Hornets also won despite being outscored by the Heat 27-17 at the foul line. —Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 18 Mar. 2026

Brown keyed the next Celtics charge by earning a steady succession of trips to the foul line. —Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 16 Mar. 2026

Scott shot 5 for 10 (3 for 6 from 3-point range) and 5 of 6 from the foul line. —ABC News, 14 Mar. 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)