lather
1 Americannoun
-
foam or froth made by a detergent, especially soap, when stirred or rubbed in water, as by a brush used in shaving or by hands in washing.
-
foam or froth formed in profuse sweating, as on a horse.
-
Informal. a state of excitement, agitation, nervous tension, or the like.
He was in a lather over my delay.
verb (used without object)
-
lathers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
lathered,
past participle, past
-
lathering
present participle
-
to form a lather.
a soap that lathers well.
-
to become covered with lather, as a horse.
verb (used with object)
-
lathers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
lathered,
past participle, past
-
lathering
present participle
-
to apply lather to; cover with lather.
He lathered his face before shaving.
-
Informal. to beat or whip.
noun
noun
-
foam or froth formed by the action of soap or a detergent in water
-
foam formed by other liquid, such as the sweat of a horse
-
informal a state of agitation or excitement
verb
-
to coat or become coated with lather
-
(intr) to form a lather
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
lathersimple
-
latherssimple
-
have latheredperfect
-
has latheredperfect
-
am latheringprogressive
-
are latheringprogressive
-
is latheringprogressive
-
have been latheringperfect progressive
-
has been latheringperfect progressive
Past
-
latheredsimple
-
had latheredperfect
-
was latheringprogressive
-
were latheringprogressive
-
had been latheringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of lather1
before 950; Middle English; Old English lēathor soap; cognate with Old Norse lauthr ( Icelandic löthur ) lather, foam
Origin of lather2
Explanation
A lather is the froth soaps and detergents produce. Lathering also means to soap yourself up, and a lather can be a state of extreme agitation. When you're taking a shower, you make the soap frothy: this is a lather, and you're lathering when you create it. Rubbing soap on your body is also called lathering. Since lather is a stirred-up form of soap, it can also apply to emotions that have been stirred up. Someone upset is in a lather. Getting in a lather usually results from worry or anger, and it's an unpleasant state of mind.
Vocabulary lists containing lather
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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:
But you might have no idea if you’ve been listening to hockey-ignorant media dopes like me lather attention on the incoming World Cup and the East Coast-pleasing, media-hub Knicks-Spurs NBA final.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
It may seem like years in the past at this point, but it was only three little months ago that the world got itself worked into a lather over Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights.”
From Salon ● May 3, 2026
The apes picked leaves, chewed them into a green-white lather, and rubbed the substance onto their arms and legs.
From Science Magazine ● May 1, 2024
Natural emulsifiers, such as xanthan gum and cetyl alcohol, are sometimes used to prevent organic shampoo from separating and enhance its soapy lather.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 11, 2024
The other members of the varsity were screaming, whipping themselves up into a lather now that the season had officially started and they were strutting their skills before the newcomers.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
Now he says he's frightened by the sun and lathers himself up in SPF before even thinking about stepping outdoors.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2025
And cosmetic companies, which were shifting away from animal- or petroleum-based ingredients, were captivated by its miracle properties: It foams in toothpaste and shaving gel, moisturizes soaps and lathers in shampoo.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 17, 2020
Davis snaps on a cape decorated in hundred dollar bills, then lathers Booker’s face as his eyes flutter shut.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 15, 2018
He splashes water on his hands, squirts the liquid soap onto his hands and lathers up for 30 seconds before returning his hands under the water.
From Slate ● Apr. 18, 2012
"Whenever highborn girls came into the shop with their lathers, my master told me I was to bend the knee, and speak only when they spoke to me, and call them m’lady."
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
She ate more black beans, lathered her scalp with French soap and opted for root perms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 5, 2026
This dread has been my constant companion ever since I lathered up, rinsed and watched handfuls of dirty blonde strands circle the drain three weeks ago.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 9, 2025
Shinichirō Watanabe's vision marries futuristic visuals with realism, with the series' jazz score treated as something to be felt and then absorbed, like dry skin lathered in shea butter.
From Salon ● Apr. 5, 2025
Before the snow covered the ground, layers of brine, a very high concentration of salty water, were lathered onto the roads to prevent hard layers of snow from becoming hardly packed.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 22, 2022
A steel ball will knock to dust Irene’s Palace of Cosmetology, where women used to lean their heads back on sink trays and doze while Irene lathered Nu Nile into their hair.
From "Sula" by Toni Morrison
So, thanks to my time in the scanner, I am now far more enthusiastic about lathering sunscreen all over my body - rather than only on my face.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
Hers is a labor-intensive process, teasing out the dough, lathering on the praline filling, and then letting the cakes rest and rise for several hours.
From New York Times ● Feb. 12, 2024
Other water-saving actions include turning off the shower/faucet while lathering or brushing teeth and installing a greywater recycling system.
From National Geographic ● Jul. 25, 2023
It can also be helpful to use shampoo with warm instead of hot water, since lathering with hot water can remove too much oil from the scalp, Alam said.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 11, 2023
He had just finished lathering his face when his mother suddenly appeared in his shaving mirror.
From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger
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.
