foal
Americannoun
verb (used with or without object)
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
- unfoaled adjective
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.
Dwindling foal crops, shrinking purses and a stagnant and aging fan base has pointed to California racing being on the edge of extinction.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 28, 2025
He went to check on the foal and the mum but discovered another foal, stillborn, at the other side of the paddock.
From BBC • May 3, 2025
Staff at Dalscone Farm in Dumfries now have a unique family-of-three after a series of events left the two mothers believing the foal was theirs.
From BBC • May 3, 2025
Declining purses, field sizes and foal crops puts California racing in trouble.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 5, 2025
Seabiscuit had been a very late foal, born at the end of May 1933, but in January 1935, half a year short of his actual birthday, he was deemed a two-year-old, officially eligible to race.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
