ESEN
Which one to use?Intermediateadjectivenoun
FoulvsFowl
'Foul' means disgustingly dirty or a sports penalty; 'fowl' refers to domestic birds like chickens or turkeys.
Side-by-side comparison
Foul
adjective"Foul" means dirty, disgusting, foul-smelling, or against the rules (a foul in sport). Also the verb to commit a foul or to contaminate.
The foul smell from the kitchen drain was coming from a blocked pipe.
The referee called a foul on the defender for pulling the attacker.
The team found themselves in foul weather halfway through the crossing.
Fowl
noun"Fowl" is domestic poultry: chickens, ducks, turkeys. Any bird raised for meat or eggs. It is pronounced exactly like "foul".
The farmer raised chickens, ducks, and other fowl for the local market.
Turkey is the traditional fowl served at Thanksgiving dinner in the United States.
Wildfowl hunting requires a licence in most countries.
Common mistake
- •"A pen of fouls" when meaning the birds is wrong: the domestic or game birds are "fowl".
- •"Fowl play" when meaning suspicious or criminal conduct is wrong: the fixed phrase is "foul play".
Trick to remember it
- •"Foul" has OU like "out" and "oust": things ejected, removed, or wrong.
- •"Fowl" contains OWL: an owl is a bird, and OWL lives inside fOWL.
Quick rule
- •Is it dirty, bad, or a sports violation? "Foul".
- •Are they the domestic or game birds? "Fowl".
Did you know?
"Neither fish nor fowl" is an idiom meaning something that fits no clear category. It comes from the Middle Ages, when the main food groups were "fish, fowl, and flesh" (fish, poultry, and red meat). If something was none of the three, it was unclassifiable. "Foul play" in criminal contexts appears in Shakespeare's works and remains standard in modern journalistic and police language. "Fowl" comes from Old English "fugol" (bird), the same root as German "Vogel" and the surname "Vogelstein."
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
The referee blew his whistle for a _____ and gave a free kick.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
Chickens, ducks, and geese are all types of _____.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
AcceptvsExcept
One means to receive or agree to something, the other means to exclude or not include.
AdvicevsAdvise
'Advice' is the guidance you receive (noun); 'advise' is the act of giving that guidance (verb).
AffectvsEffect
'Affect' is the verb meaning to influence something; 'effect' is the noun meaning result or consequence.
AislevsIsle
'Aisle' is the walkway between rows of seats or shelves; 'isle' is a small island.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy