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run afoul. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
run afoul, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
run afoul in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Verb
run afoul (third-person singular simple present runs afoul, present participle running afoul, simple past ran afoul, past participle run afoul)
- (transitive, intransitive, nautical) To become entangled or in conflict with.
1857, Thomas Jefferson Farnham, Life, Adventures, and Travels in California, page 407:At last we hove in sight of the Pacific, and run afoul one of those villainous head winds which you know often set into the west end of the Straits.
1995, James Laurence Pelletier, Mariner's Employment Guide, page 514:Propellers can run afoul in heavy seaweed, and ships are said to be afoul when they collide.