afoul

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The Sports Broadcasting Act passed by Congress in 1961 allowed professional football teams to collectively license the TV rights of their games to national broadcast networks without running afoul of anti-trust laws.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

Air Canada has run afoul of its bilingualism mandate in the past.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

If a trans person runs afoul of the law multiple times, they may be criminally charged with a misdemeanor.

From Slate • Feb. 27, 2026

But if they cede too much responsibility to AI, that could lead to deficiencies in critical regulations and run afoul of a requirement that federal rules be built on reasoned decision-making.

From Salon • Feb. 2, 2026

The first one, which is embarrassingly obvious, is that ESP runs afoul of the fundamental common- sense principle that the normal senses must somehow be involved for communication to take place.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos