foot fault

noun

: an infraction of the service rules (as in tennis, racquetball, or volleyball) that results from illegal placement of the server's feet
footfault intransitive verb

Examples of foot fault in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Bishop’s made 12 errors in the first set alone, including two foot faults on serves. Tim Meehan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Apr. 2024 But the banks also miscalculated by putting a limit on how high those rates could rise—the foot fault that gives Musk his leverage. Shawn Tully, Fortune, 4 Oct. 2023 When Marcus’ foot fault becomes a series of missteps, punishment follows in the form of community service, which requires him to train a team of disabled basketball players. Leo Barraclough, Variety, 20 June 2023 Most commentary has focused on the foot faults of former CEO Bob Chapek, who had a tin ear for the concerns of employees, board members, political partners, customers, and just about everyone else. Jackson Fordyce, Fortune, 21 Apr. 2023 But when Roddick was called for a foot fault during the second set of their doubles match, McEnroe was pleased. Safid Deen, USA TODAY, 2 Apr. 2023 That’s a sharp contrast to FedEx’s bruising guidance cut just over a month ago, which the company blamed on a weakening global economy, and analysts blamed on idiosyncratic foot faults. Washington Post, 22 Oct. 2019 She was not bothered that a small foot fault caused her to lose points in the waltz. Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 26 Nov. 2019 Economic weakness plays a role here, but there are also signs of operational foot faults. Washington Post, 24 Oct. 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'foot fault.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1886, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of foot fault was in 1886

Dictionary Entries Near foot fault

Cite this Entry

“Foot fault.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/foot%20fault. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!