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

Fontecchio finished with a season-high 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field, 6-of-9 shooting on threes and 3-of-4 shooting from the foul line. —Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 29 Jan. 2026

Keyshawn Hall is about to head to the foul line with a chance to give the Tigers their first lead of the second half. —Thomas Jones, Austin American Statesman, 28 Jan. 2026

But Boozer, the son of former Duke star Carlos Boozer, made his presence felt in the second half getting to the foul line 12 times and converting nine free throws. —Lia Assimakopoulos, Dallas Morning News, 27 Jan. 2026

But the interpretation also was probably too liberal at the start of the season that got him to the foul line over the initial months of the season. —Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 26 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)