foal
Americannoun
verb (used with or without object)
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
foalsimple
-
foalssimple
-
have foaledperfect
-
has foaledperfect
-
are foalingprogressive
-
am foalingprogressive
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is foalingprogressive
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have been foalingperfect progressive
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has been foalingperfect progressive
Past
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foaledsimple
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had foaledperfect
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was foalingprogressive
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were foalingprogressive
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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.
The allies’ last large field training, called Foal Eagle, was held in 2018, the militaries said.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 12, 2023
The two countries last conducted Foal Eagle in 2018.
From Washington Times • Mar. 2, 2023
Every spring, the United States and South Korea conduct Foal Eagle and Max Thunder drills, both of which wrapped up in May.
From The Guardian • Jun. 22, 2018
The military sharpens soldiers’ skills with large-scale combat drills like Jade Helm and Foal Eagle, which send troops into the field to test their tactics and weaponry.
From New York Times • May 20, 2018
I tell you this—When, started from the Goal, Over the flaming shoulders of the Foal Of Heav'n, Parwin and Mushtari they flung, In my predestined Plot of Dust and Soul.
From The Sufistic Quatrains of Omar Khayyam by Khayyam, Omar
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
