befoul
to make dirty or filthy; soil; defile; sully: a bird that befouls its own nest.
Origin of befoul
1Other words from befoul
- be·foul·er, noun
- be·foul·ment, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use befoul in a sentence
For the past three weeks, beginning with the Cory Booker-befouled Bain week, Mitt Romney has been getting essentially a free ride.
Michael Tomasky Gives the President Some Advice: Grow a Pair, Obama! | Michael Tomasky | June 14, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTShe had come in to refit, for her bottom was much befouled by a long cruise, which had been successful.
Famous Privateersmen and Adventurers of the Sea | Charles H. L. JohnstonEzra Prentiss, weary and covered with dust, cleaned his befouled rifle and sighed.
The Young Continentals at Bunker Hill | John T. McIntyreForth he plucked it, and thrust it to them across the stains of wine and oil that befouled their table.
The Historical Nights Entertainment, Second Series | Rafael SabatiniI went below to help him up—and it was sad to see so great a man in so brave a livery so befouled!
Sir Ludar | Talbot Baines Reed
The maid had snatched the kimono, also befouled, from the handle of the door and threw it round her mistress.
The Hidden Force | Louis Couperus
British Dictionary definitions for befoul
/ (bɪˈfaʊl) /
(tr) to make dirty or foul; soil; defile
Derived forms of befoul
- befouler, noun
- befoulment, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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