foal
Americannoun
-
foals
plural
verb (used with or without object)
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foals,
present (3rd person singular)
-
foaled,
past participle, past
-
foaling
present participle
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
foalsimple
-
foalssimple
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have foaledperfect
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has foaledperfect
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am foalingprogressive
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are foalingprogressive
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is foalingprogressive
-
have been foalingperfect progressive
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has been foalingperfect progressive
Past
-
foaledsimple
-
had foaledperfect
-
was foalingprogressive
-
were foalingprogressive
-
had been foalingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of foal
before 950; (noun) Middle English fole, Old English fola; cognate with Old High German folo ( German Fohlen ); akin to Latin pullus young animal, Greek pôlos foal; (v.) Middle English, derivative of the noun
Explanation
A foal is a baby horse. Most horses give birth to only one foal at a time, though occasionally they have two. You can use the word foal for a horse that's younger than one year old — after turning one, a foal becomes a yearling. Foals can be either male, also called a colt, or female, also called a filly. When a mare, or adult female horse, has a baby, you can say she foals. The Old English root word, fola, means "foal" or "colt."
Vocabulary lists containing foal
The Horse and His Boy
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The War That Saved My Life
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"Rachel the Clever"
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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.
See Examples For:
Each new foal bore the promise of outperforming a carefully chosen set of parents.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026
Pletcher said a declining foal crop has led to fewer races, which means trainers have fewer opportunities to take the traditional step from maiden race to allowance race to stakes race.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026
He looks to buy fillies and mares that are good broodmare prospects, then either resells them or breeds them and sells the foal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2026
Seven days ago, farm owner Ben Best had been cleaning a pen in the morning when he noticed a foal standing between his two pregnant donkeys, Star and Mary.
From BBC ● May 3, 2025
She thought she had property rights in the foal, Specklebottom’s blood line being what it was.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
Horse-obsessed Gurbanguly has churned out numerous books about Akhal-Tekes and even penned a rap song in honour of one of his foals.
From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026
The consultants recommended that racing emulate the NBA and show off lifestyle content—“from foals at the farm to fashion and food at the races”—that would help the sport look cool.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026
April Rose Pengilly's Instagram showed her in the Hampshire national park petting foals and donkeys - which is not permitted under the area's rules.
From BBC ● May 15, 2024
More than 260 foals are among the 2,643 animals that have been rounded up for transport to government holding pens since July 9, the agency said on its website Saturday.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 5, 2023
He saw among the galloping herd three foals, their small flanks sweating with the effort of speed.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Both donkeys had, in fact, foaled at the exact same time.
From BBC ● May 3, 2025
He also gave sworn friend Jamuqa for a mount Toqto’a’s yellowish white mare with a black tail and mane, a mare that had not foaled for several years.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023
The purses are built from nominations of horses and stallions from the day a horse is foaled.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 23, 2023
Knicks Go was foaled on Jan. 29, 2016, meaning he actually turns 6 on Saturday.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 28, 2022
‘Away now, Shadowfax! Run, greatheart, run as you have never run before! Now we are come to the lands where you were foaled, and every stone you know. Run now! Hope is in speed!’
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
That includes avoiding peak foaling periods and hot weather that would stress the horses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2025
Leigh says the bureau has erroneously concluded that peak foaling season is the same for all herds — from March 1 through June 30.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 8, 2023
Among those at the foaling was co-owner Ann Holbrook, who campaigned Zenyatta with her former husband, A&M Records co-founder Jerry Moss.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 12, 2023
As Our Josephina began the unenviable act of foaling, the foal’s emerging hooves looked alarmingly large.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 29, 2015
He knowed, I reckon, that maybe I weren’t no horse foaling.
From "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
