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
Biden is a pro-labor president, while Tesla is non-union and has run afoul of federal labor laws.
—
Mackenzie Sigalos,rebecca Picciotto, CNBC, 8 Aug. 2024
Thailand’s turbulent political history has previously seen parties that have pushed for change run afoul of the powerful establishment – a nexus of the military, royalist and influential elites.
—Helen Regan, CNN, 7 Aug. 2024
That would give Apple the opportunity to reach new, nonexclusive agreements with AI providers — including Google — that don’t run afoul of the U.S. government.
—Bloomberg, The Mercury News, 6 Aug. 2024
Online, commenters speculated about whether the gifts might run afoul of Federal Election Commission rules.
—Kat Tenbarge, NBC News, 5 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for afoul of 
Mackenzie Sigalos,rebecca Picciotto, CNBC, 8 Aug. 2024
Thailand’s turbulent political history has previously seen parties that have pushed for change run afoul of the powerful establishment – a nexus of the military, royalist and influential elites.
—Helen Regan, CNN, 7 Aug. 2024
That would give Apple the opportunity to reach new, nonexclusive agreements with AI providers — including Google — that don’t run afoul of the U.S. government.
—Bloomberg, The Mercury News, 6 Aug. 2024
Online, commenters speculated about whether the gifts might run afoul of Federal Election Commission rules.
—Kat Tenbarge, NBC News, 5 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for afoul of
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'afoul of.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Afoul of.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/afoul%20of. Accessed 19 Aug. 2024.
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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