foul ball

American  

noun

Baseball.

1. a batted ground ball that is hit and played outside the foul lines, or that passes outside the foul lines at first or third base, or that is played outside the foul line between home and first or third base regardless of where hit.

2. a batted fly ball played or landing outside the foul lines.

3. Slang. an incompetent, unlucky, or eccentric person.

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Etymology

Origin of foul ball

An Americanism dating back to 1855–60

Example Sentences

It’s the roaring opposite of lazy foul ball spring training.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026

It’s gotten so bad that when we see an adult do the right thing and fork a foul ball over to a child, we’re practically nominating them for a Nobel.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 3, 2025

Undeterred, he went back on the attack, getting one foul ball with a heater on the inner half, then another with a curveball that leaked over the plate.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 18, 2025

And as it stretched on through the summer — compounded by foot contusion on a foul ball he suffered in July — frustration began to mount.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 3, 2025

And you pitched it, and I missed it by a mile, and you kept pitching it to me all day long, and I never even hit a foul ball on it.”

From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli