(v. t.) To render (an effort or attempt) vain or nugatory; to baffle; to outwit; to balk; to frustrate; to defeat.
(v. t.) To blunt; to dull; to spoil; as, to foil the scent in chase.
(v. t.) To defile; to soil.
(n.) Failure of success when on the point of attainment; defeat; frustration; miscarriage.
(n.) A blunt weapon used in fencing, resembling a smallsword in the main, but usually lighter and having a button at the point.
(n.) The track or trail of an animal.
(n.) A leaf or very thin sheet of metal; as, brass foil; tin foil; gold foil.
(n.) A thin leaf of sheet copper silvered and burnished, and afterwards coated with transparent colors mixed with isinglass; -- employed by jewelers to give color or brilliancy to pastes and inferior stones.
(n.) Anything that serves by contrast of color or quality to adorn or set off another thing to advantage.
(n.) A thin coat of tin, with quicksilver, laid on the back of a looking-glass, to cause reflection.
(n.) The space between the cusps in Gothic architecture; a rounded or leaflike ornament, in windows, niches, etc. A group of foils is called trefoil, quatrefoil, quinquefoil, etc., according to the number of arcs of which it is composed.
Example Sentences:
(1) The magnitude of improvement achieved is dependent upon field size, SSD, the atomic number of the foil material, and foil thickness.
(2) Membranes were sandwiched between two gas-permeable, plastic foils, placed in a sealed cuvette, and gassed with H2 as reductant or O2 as oxidant.
(3) Based on the macrophage-specific release using crystalline silica, and the production and secretion of at least three hemopoietic regulatory factors (erythropoietin, colony stimulating factor and a multipotential stem cell enhancing and maintaining factor) into the extracellular fluid of bone marrow-derived macrophages grown on hydrophobic teflon foils, a hypothesis for the regulation of hemopoiesis is proposed.
(4) The entrance window is 12 microns Melinex foil with a thin aluminium surface.
(5) The present study investigated these inconsistencies by manipulating nonword foil lexicality (i.e., the similarity of nonword foils to words), semantic priming, and word frequency in two lexical decision experiments.
(6) International negotiations extend over long periods of time and there are significant steps that we still have to undertake, but the important thing is to continue to make forward progress.” Rich countries accused of foiling effort to give poorer nations a voice on tax Read more Manuel Montes , however, senior adviser on finance and development at the South Centre in Geneva and one of the architects of the financing for development process, felt developing countries had lost more than they had gained.
(7) Mononuclear cells were isolated from whole blood by cytapheresis and cultured for 7 days with 2% autologous serum on hydrophobic Teflon foils.
(8) Maybe it will do him good to go away with England.” Such is the cyclical life of goalscorers, there are times when those fractions that can be the difference between a ball ending up nestled in the net, or agonisingly wide, or foiled by a goalkeeper that probably seems 10 feet tall, loom large.
(9) A stick, 5 to 6 cm long, made of a glass capillary tube, or, aluminium foil, with ends bended as a hock, are weighted up to 0.001 g. Introduce one stick previously weighted in diluted plasma.
(10) The colour to channel for next season is, in fact, not matt buttercup yellow but the gold-foil sheen best explained as the colour of the toffee penny in a box of Quality Street.
(11) I think it was just excited commentary, and it sounds like people are trying to get a lot out the door in terms of Christmas purchases of books.” On Monday morning, Morrison insisted the phone call was of “no consequence” and that linking it with the September spill amounted to “tin foil hat conspiracies”.
(12) A reason for this is the worse demarcability of the pre-beta-lipoprotein proportion in the curves of the densitometre of acetate foils.
(13) A new cell culture technique is described which is based on the observation that foils cast from the melamine resin hexamethylol-melamine-ether are suitable for the cultivation of beating heart muscle cells and fibroblasts of the rat.
(14) The parent nuclide, W-178 (half-life 21.7 d), was produced in the Michigan State University cyclotron by proton bombardment of stacked natural tantalum-foil targets.
(15) A plastic IUD bearing copper foil (42 mm2) was inserted into one horn of the rabbit uterus and a physically similar platinum-bearing IUD in the contralateral horn served as a control.
(16) This study compared the performance of a new computerized occlusal analysis (T-Scan) system with that of Accufilm and Shimstock foil for the registration of tooth contacts on a laboratory model.
(17) Four lead layers (three additional foils equalling 3.92 x 10(-3) mm of lead) on the conventional film package resulted in a significant dose reduction.
(18) From then on, different features were added over the years, including more use of colour, watermark portraits of the queen, highly detailed machine engravings, reflective foil patches and holographic strips.
(19) A lovely counterattack following some ponderous behaviour by NZ outside the Slovakia box, before Vittek was foiled as he was about to pull the trigger.
(20) The nuclear regulation authority said the radiation comprised mostly beta rays that could be blocked by aluminium foil, unlike more penetrative gamma rays.
Scupper
Definition:
(v.) An opening cut through the waterway and bulwarks of a ship, so that water falling on deck may flow overboard; -- called also scupper hole.
Example Sentences:
(1) Given how Bank forecasts have been all over the shop, it is possible that the Old Lady's spreadsheet wizards could scupper Mr Carney's plans by spying a speck of price pressure and panicking about it turning into a giant inflationary boulder.
(2) First, there are major vested interests, such as large corporations, foreign billionaires and libel lawyers, who will attempt to scupper reform.
(3) In public Cameron and others trumpet the benefits of regulation while behind the scenes the government uses Machiavellian manoeuvres to scupper the regulations and silence the concerns of other member states."
(4) Blatter and Platini are also subject to investigation over the same payment by Fifa’s ethics committee, meaning both could imminently be suspended, which would scupper Platini’s candidacy to be elected Fifa president when Blatter steps down in February .
(5) His arrival is likely to conclude the bulk of José Mourinho's incoming business in this window, scuppering the Colombia international Fredy Guarín's hopes of joining from Internazionale.
(6) Republicans, who have majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, could scupper Obama’s plan to close Guantánamo Bay by the end of his second term.
(7) I've been ultra-critical of her in recent days, dismissing Abbott as one of the unreconstructed Labour tribalists who had scuppered any prospects of a post-election deal with the Liberal Democrats and a new "rainbow coalition" of the centre-left.
(8) The lack of consensus in the opposition Liberal party stymied Friday's Senate vote on the issue, scuppering the government's aims.
(9) While the BBC tie-up has been championed by Thompson, in an attempt to scupper other options such as top-slicing the licence fee, some within the corporation have expressed reservations.
(10) The idea of a carbon tax will also garner support among progressives who were left deflated after Obama’s initial attempts to institute a national cap-and-trade carbon system were scuppered by Republican opposition.
(11) Security sources told the Guardian that at least three rescue attempts had been scuppered.
(12) The deal immediately raised questions about Mr Malone's plans - some analysts have speculated as to whether he is planning a takeover bid and whether the move could scupper Mr Murdoch's succession plans involving his sons James and Lachlan.
(13) Soon she could return to the front pages in a more controversial role – when she stands up in court to represent Muammar Gaddafi's notorious spy chief in a case that could scupper the reputation of the international criminal court.
(14) Mayer writes: “Sources say internal conflicts scuppered the scheme after it was already significantly advanced, wasting money instead of saving it.” The cost was between £100,000 and £200,000, the Times reported.
(15) Schneiderlin saw a move to Tottenham scuppered last year as Southampton refused to sanction the transfer, insisting he stay on for another season.
(16) It's almost funny when you think about it – all those European bureaucrats beavering away over the minutiae of the trade deal, and then along comes Putin with a sack of cash and scuppers the whole thing in a matter of minutes.
(17) Sources involved in the talks, which broke down on 29 January, claim that the BMA scuppered a deal that would have ended the dispute by failing to agree that only Saturday mornings up until 1pm would become part of the working week.
(18) The UK must "show some backbone" and push for a strong global arms trade treaty even if that means standing up to Washington and America's powerful gun lobby, which is determined to scupper an agreement, campaigners have urged.
(19) But the most dramatic rebellion was staged two months later on July 22 when the Tory outcasts attempted to scupper the treaty by voting with Labour in favour of the European social chapter.
(20) Either I left or Interpol would scupper my platform, they said.