fouling

verb

1. (form-of, gerund, participle, present)present participle and gerund of foul

   “A new type of fouling point indicator is being tried out by the London Transport Executive. Until now the standard method of indicating the point nearest to a junction of two stabling roads where a train can stand without fouling the adjacent road has been by fixing the letters "FP" [fouling point] to the sleepers of the road concerned.”

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)The adhesion of a foreign material onto a surface, especially so as to reduce its functionality.

   “Probably, rifling evolved from the early observation of the feathers on an arrow-and from the practical results of cutting channels in a musket, originally to reduce fouling, then because it was found to improve accuracy of the shot.”