technical foul

noun

basketball

: a foul that is assessed to a player, coach, or team typically for unsportsmanlike conduct (such as arguing with an official or taunting an opponent) and does not usually involve physical contact with an opponent while the ball is in play

called also technical

compare personal foul

Examples of technical foul in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Caitlin Clark's Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White was given a technical foul and a fine during Thursday's win against the Las Vegas Aces for yelling at WNBA referees. —Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 5 July 2025

By the end of the night, there had been five technical fouls and two flagrant fouls issued, and three players had been ejected. —Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 22 June 2025

Green was upset with the officials’ decision to give him that technical foul, which was his fifth already this postseason. —Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 9 May 2025

Harden, Dunn and Powell were assessed technical fouls for the Clippers. —Janis Carr, Oc Register, 26 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1896, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for technical foul

• afoul
• wildfowl
• foule
• fowl
• growl
• howl
• jowl
• owl
• prowl
• scowl
• waterfowl