foil
verbverb [often passive]Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they foil he / she / it foils past simple foiled -ing form foiling
jump to other results to stop something from happening, especially something illegal; to prevent someone from doing something synonym thwart foil something to foil a plan/crime/plot Customs officials foiled an attempt to smuggle the paintings out of the country. foil somebody (in something) They were foiled in their attempt to smuggle the paintings.
See foil in the Oxford Advanced Learner's DictionaryCheck pronunciation:
foil