personal foul
6
3.8
- noun
- /ˈpɜrsənl faʊl/
- Specialized
:
falta personal
- The Sixers just drew a personal foul.
- personal foul penalty
- personal foul call
- committing a personal foul
Like there's no personal fouls where you sell a a hit to get this person or to get to the free throw line.
- Like there's no personal fouls where you sell a a hit to get this person or to get to the free throw line.
Examples
-
Washington State had four personal fouls by halftime, and both teams ended with 10 penalties each.
Blog text (32) -
Late hits, over pursuit, more late hits, and more personal fouls.
Blog text (30) -
Two weeks later, the same crew called a personal foul penalty.
Blog text (8) -
- Personal foul, number 32, white.
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Personal foul on the defense.
-
Reed did get called for four personal fouls in the game.
Blog text (20) -
That's his fifth personal foul.
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Haloti Ngata committed a personal foul that led to a field goal.
Blog text (33) -
The drive was helped by a personal foul against Georgia State's Demarius Matthews.
Blog text (31) -
After a lengthy conference by the officials, they called a personal foul on Williams and tossed him from the game.
Synonyms
26
2.4
To break the rules in a sport by making illegal contact with another player
Antonyms
16
3.0
Honest behavior that treats everyone the same and follows the rules in sport or competition
How Severe
- Specialized
6
3.8
216
1.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'foul' is a rule-breaking action in games and 'personal' specifies that it relates to a person, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it denotes a foul involving a player (usually physical contact). This formation follows a common modifier+noun pattern and has close parallels in other languages, making it immediately interpretable.
Etymology
The sports term personal foul puts together foul (a rule break) and personal (against a person), creating the image of one player pushing or hitting another player. So it means a penalty for 'illegal or rough contact' during a game.