run afoul

English

Verb

run afoul (third-person singular simple present runs afoul, present participle running afoul, simple past ran afoul, past participle run afoul)

1. (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.

Related terms

• run afoul of