foal
Americannoun
-
foals
plural
verb (used with or without object)
-
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
-
have foaledperfect
-
has foaledperfect
-
am foalingprogressive
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are foalingprogressive
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is foalingprogressive
-
have been foalingperfect progressive
-
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
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
A brown foal with a white stripe on its muzzle teetered on toothpick legs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2025
The farm's vet confirmed the foal was stillborn due to a rare deformity but could not confirm which one was the mother of which foal.
From BBC ● May 3, 2025
“Last February he rode a seabull across the Straits of Semper, in a storm, to rescue a unicorn foal who had been swept out to sea,” said Warren.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
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
The team of scientists also investigated the long-term consequences of young foals being treated with antibiotics.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2024
The process is called docking and often is performed on foals using a special constricting band, the American Veterinary Medical Association explained on its website.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 20, 2023
Curiously, Hard Tack appeared to be stamping his foals in a mold that was the polar opposite of his own.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
In 1990, there were 44,143 horses foaled in North America, which includes Canada and Puerto Rico.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 2, 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
According to one report, about 20,000 thoroughbreds are foaled every year in the U.S., and the Kentucky Derby takes only 20 three-year-olds.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 28, 2020
"Newmarket - where Frankel was foaled and forged," proclaims the promotional video at the National Horseracing Museum in the Suffolk town.
From BBC ● May 4, 2013
A regally bred mare named Brushup had foaled a near-black colt, a son of Man o’ War, and they couldn’t take their eyes off of him.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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 Washington Times ● Aug. 9, 2023
“This particular herd is foaling now and pregnant now,” Jessica Blome, their lawyer, told Du on Wednesday.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 27, 2022
Banke not only is as competitive as Jackson was, but she also has found true solace amid the foaling barns and pastures of Stonestreet Farms.
From New York Times ● Apr. 30, 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.
