personal foul

noun

|Updated on: 10 Jun 2018

Definition of personal foul

: a foul in a game (such as basketball) involving usually physical contact with or deliberate roughing of an opponent — compare technical foul

See personal foul defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of personal foul from the Web

If there is an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty or personal foul by the defense on a field goal, the kicking team will have the option to have the penalty enforced on the ensuing kickoff.

— pete grathoff, kansascity, "NCAA approves radical rule change on kickoffs | The Kansas City Star," 13 Apr. 2018
Dragic was given a personal foul and technical foul.

— alysha tsuji, For The Win, "Goran Dragic got tech after slapping the back of Ben Simmons' head in Game 5," 24 Apr. 2018
The tie-up with Green, which resulted in a personal foul on Stephenson and free throws for Green, looked part headlock and part jump ball.

— michael singer, USA TODAY, "Headlock or jump ball? Explaining controversial Lance Stephenson-Jeff Green play," 23 Apr. 2018
Watch: Joe Borgia, NBA Senior Vice President of Replay & Referee Operations, appeared on Inside the NBA @NBAonTNT to discuss the Lance Stephenson-Jeff Green play toward the end of the game in which Stephenson was called for a personal foul on Green.

— rob tornoe, Philly.com, "Ending to Cavaliers-Pacers game confused TNT analysts Chris Webber and Kenny Smith," 23 Apr. 2018
But Brunson went to the bench with 10:51 to play after picking up his fourth personal foul and Michigan showed some life, cutting the deficit to 56-44 on Matthews’ layup with 9:08 remaining.

— joe juliano, Philly.com, "Donte DiVincenzo leads Villanova to NCAA championship in 79-62 win over Michigan," 2 Apr. 2018
After a lengthy video review, Davis, Turner, Ferguson and Westbrook were handed technical fouls and Davis was awarded a personal foul.

— joe freeman, OregonLive.com, "Portland Trail Blazers show toughness, playoff poise in win over Oklahoma City Thunder," 26 Mar. 2018
With ’Nova up, 52-44, big man Omari Spellman, a hero of the Sweet 16 win over West Virginia, was whistled for a questionable fourth personal foul with 6:29 to go attempting to corral an offensive rebound.

— christopher l. gasper, BostonGlobe.com, "Villanova’s ugly win was truly something to behold," 26 Mar. 2018
Toward the end of Corprew’s scoring stretch, Ben Perez fired off back-to-back 3-pointers before sitting with his second personal foul.

— jake crouse, idahostatesman, "Southern Idaho falls just short in NJCAA championship game | Idaho Statesman," 25 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'personal foul.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.