afoul of
preposition
1
: in or into conflict with
ran afoul of the law
2
: in or into collision or entanglement with
Examples of afoul of in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The hostile bid came as Nexstar Media Group agreed to acquire Tegna, in a $6 billion transaction that would run afoul of the FCC’s 39% ownership cap; Nexstar has filed for a waiver to the ownership cap.
—
Todd Spangler, Variety, 11 Feb. 2026
In Wednesday's ruling, the appeals court opined that even if some of the records are protected by copyright law, Metro Nashville police could still allow the public to inspect them without running afoul of the law.
—Arkansas Online, 6 Feb. 2026
However, doing so would run afoul of NCAA and conference membership rules.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 22 Jan. 2026
Carr has weighed in on comments made by Jimmy Kimmel (Kimmel’s show was briefly suspended by ABC a few days after Carr’s comments), and last September suggested that The View is running afoul of equal opportunity rules.
—Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 21 Jan. 2026
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Todd Spangler, Variety, 11 Feb. 2026
In Wednesday's ruling, the appeals court opined that even if some of the records are protected by copyright law, Metro Nashville police could still allow the public to inspect them without running afoul of the law.
—Arkansas Online, 6 Feb. 2026
However, doing so would run afoul of NCAA and conference membership rules.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 22 Jan. 2026
Carr has weighed in on comments made by Jimmy Kimmel (Kimmel’s show was briefly suspended by ABC a few days after Carr’s comments), and last September suggested that The View is running afoul of equal opportunity rules.
—Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 21 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for afoul of
Cite this Entry
“Afoul of.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/afoul%20of. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
afoul of
preposition1
: in or into collision or entanglement with
one ship ran afoul of the other
2
: in or into conflict with
they fell afoul of the law
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