foul ball
Americannoun
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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.
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a batted fly ball played or landing outside the foul lines.
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Slang. an incompetent, unlucky, or eccentric person.
Etymology
Origin of foul ball
An Americanism dating back to 1855–60
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The group of departees includes Bucknor, who has been sidelined since he was struck in the face mask by a foul ball on April 1.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
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
We were playing stickball on 122nd Street, and a foul ball went up on the flat roof over the church vestibule.
From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
