foul ball

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of foul ball¹

An Americanism dating back to 1855–60

Example Sentences

Same goes for these ridiculous battles for foul balls and home runs.

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The previous night, Smith had returned to the lineup a week after taking a foul ball off his throwing hand.

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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.

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Dalton Rushing, who replaced Smith after he took a foul ball off his hand in the second inning, lined out to move a runner.

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

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