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 foulExamples of technical foul in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Finch chased referee John Butler up the court to yell his case and quickly picked up a technical foul.
—
Anthony Bettin, CBS News, 21 Dec. 2025
Saturday, Luka Dončić and Marcus Smart were both assessed technical fouls after interactions with officials.
—Dan Woike, New York Times, 21 Dec. 2025
What Chris Paul also knew was that a second delay-of-game warning would result in a technical foul, which meant a free throw for the Thunder, potentially cutting the lead to one point and changing the shot his team needed to extend the game from a three-pointer to a two.
—Hanif Abdurraqib, New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2025
After a review, Bane received a technical foul — his second of the season for throwing a ball at an out-of-bounds opponent.
—MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for technical foul
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Anthony Bettin, CBS News, 21 Dec. 2025
Saturday, Luka Dončić and Marcus Smart were both assessed technical fouls after interactions with officials.
—Dan Woike, New York Times, 21 Dec. 2025
What Chris Paul also knew was that a second delay-of-game warning would result in a technical foul, which meant a free throw for the Thunder, potentially cutting the lead to one point and changing the shot his team needed to extend the game from a three-pointer to a two.
—Hanif Abdurraqib, New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2025
After a review, Bane received a technical foul — his second of the season for throwing a ball at an out-of-bounds opponent.
—MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for technical foul
Cite this Entry
“Technical foul.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/technical%20foul. Accessed 27 Dec. 2025.
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