technical foul

noun

Basketball.

1. a foul committed by a player or coach, usually not involving physical contact with an opponent, called often for unsportsmanlike conduct, as holding on to the basket or using profanity, that gives the opposing team one or two free throws and sometimes, if the foul was flagrant, requires the ejection of the offending player or coach from the game.

Word History and Origins

Origin of technical foul¹

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

In the end, Dunn was assessed two technical fouls and ejected from the game and Hayes was assessed a technical foul.

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Green was slapped with his first technical foul of the season midway through the first quarter for chirping at officials from the bench.

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Clark’s foul was eventually upgraded to a flagrant 1, while Reese and Indiana’s Aliyah Boston were given technical fouls.

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For any of this to happen, both teams had to maintain their composure, which both sides lost late in the second quarter, resulting in technical fouls being called on six players but no ejections.

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After a review by the officials, Dunn, Powell and Braun were called for unsportsmanlike technical fouls.

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