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

The emotional day started with a pregame tribute to Anderson on the videoboard, as players from both teams stood along opposing foul lines. —Doug Padilla, Oc Register, 18 Apr. 2026

Jamal Murray led the Nuggets with 30 points on a 16-for-16 afternoon at the foul line, shaking off a slow start and a twisted right ankle after Jaden McDaniels closed out into his landing space on an early 3-point attempt. —Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 18 Apr. 2026

Herro finished with 23 points on 7-of-18 shooting from the field, 3-of-6 shooting on threes and 6-of-6 shooting from the foul line, three rebounds and six assists. —Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 15 Apr. 2026

Against the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2024, Booker sank 20 of 21 from the foul line. —Doug Haller, New York Times, 15 Apr. 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)