Definition

1. Verb:
   • To be removed from a basketball game after accumulating a specified number of personal fouls: In the sport of basketball, a player "fouls out" when they commit a certain number of personal fouls (e.g., five or six, depending on the league's rules), which disqualifies them from participating further in that game.
   • To make an out in baseball by hitting a foul ball that is caught: In the sport of baseball, a batter "fouls out" when they hit a fly ball into foul territory that is caught by a defensive player before it touches the ground, resulting in an out.

Usage Examples

• Basketball context:
  • The team's star player fouled out with five minutes left in the fourth quarter.
  • If you commit one more foul, you will foul out of the game.
• Baseball context:
  • The batter fouled out to the first baseman, ending the inning.
  • He tried to hit a home run but instead fouled out to the catcher.

Advanced Usage

• The term is almost exclusively used in the context of sports, particularly basketball and baseball. It functions as a phrasal verb where "out" is an adverb indicating removal or completion of an action.
• In basketball, the action is intransitive (the player fouls out). In baseball, it can be used intransitively () or transitively with the fielding position ().

Variants and Related Words

• Foul (verb/noun): The base word meaning an infraction of the rules in sports or something offensive.
• Foul trouble (noun phrase, basketball): A situation where a player has accumulated several fouls and is at risk of fouling out.
• Foul ball (noun phrase, baseball): A batted ball that lands in foul territory.

Synonyms

• Be disqualified (basketball): To be removed from play due to rule violations.
• Fly out (baseball, in foul territory): To make an out by hitting a fly ball that is caught. (Note: "Fly out" is more general and can occur in fair or foul territory, whereas "foul out" is specific to foul territory.)

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Foul off (verb, baseball): To hit a pitched ball into foul territory, typically used when a batter repeatedly does this to avoid striking out.
  • The batter fouled off five pitches before finally drawing a walk.

Related Idioms

• While not a traditional idiom, the phrase "to foul out" can be used metaphorically outside of sports to mean "to be removed or disqualified from a situation due to one's own mistakes or infractions."
  • He fouled out of the negotiation after making too many unreasonable demands.

Verb

1. baseball: hit a ball such that it is caught from an out in foul territory