foil
verb/fɔɪl/
/fɔɪl/
[often passive]Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they foil | /fɔɪl/ /fɔɪl/ |
| he / she / it foils | /fɔɪlz/ /fɔɪlz/ |
| past simple foiled | /fɔɪld/ /fɔɪld/ |
| past participle foiled | /fɔɪld/ /fɔɪld/ |
| -ing form foiling | /ˈfɔɪlɪŋ/ /ˈfɔɪlɪŋ/ |
- to stop something from happening, especially something illegal; to prevent somebody 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.
Extra Examples- The burglary was foiled by a passer-by who called the police.
- The registration plates are designed to foil police speed traps.
Word Originverb Middle English (in the sense ‘trample down’): perhaps from Old French fouler ‘to full cloth, trample’, based on Latin fullo ‘fuller’.Definitions on the go
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foil