foam

[ fohm ]

/ foʊm /

noun

a collection of minute bubbles formed on the surface of a liquid by agitation, fermentation, etc.: foam on a glass of beer.

the froth of perspiration, caused by great exertion, formed on the skin of a horse or other animal.

froth formed from saliva in the mouth, as in epilepsy and rabies.

a thick frothy substance, as shaving cream.

(in firefighting)

a chemically produced substance that smothers the flames on a burning liquid by forming a layer of minute, stable, heat-resistant bubbles on the liquid's surface.
the layer of bubbles so formed.

a dispersion of gas bubbles in a solid, as foam glass, foam rubber, polyfoam, or foamed metal.

Literary. the sea.

verb (used without object)

to form or gather foam; emit foam; froth.

verb (used with object)

to cause to foam.

to cover with foam; apply foam to: to foam a runway before an emergency landing.

to insulate with foam.

to make (plastic, metal, etc.) into a foam.

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To cook in water that begins cold and then reaches a boil.

To stew in a sauce for a long time.

To cook in water, just below boiling temperature.

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Idioms for foam

foam at the mouth, to be extremely or uncontrollably angry.

Origin of foam

before 900; Middle English fom,Old English fām; cognate with German Feim

SYNONYMS FOR foam

1 froth, spume, head, fizz; scum.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR foam

OTHER WORDS FROM foam

foam·a·ble, adjectivefoamer, nounfoam·ing·ly, adverbfoamless, adjective

foamlike, adjectivede·foam, verb (used with object)un·foamed, adjectiveun·foam·ing, adjective

Words nearby foam

fn, FNMA, f-number, Fo, foal, foam, foam at the mouth, foam cell, foamed metal, foamed plastic, foamflower

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for foam

The best example of that would be my first year when Kevin Hart hosted, we wrote a sketch called “Foam Party.”
How Aidy Bryant Stealthily Became Your Favorite ‘Saturday Night Live’ Star|Kevin Fallon|October 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Near the Mason jars are foam heads, the kind a showgirl uses to style her wigs.
Best Career Arc Ever: From Burlesque To Bartending|Anne Berry|September 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They chew this thing, a real thing, they do this until they foam at the mouth.
New York’s Tiniest—and Weirdest—Museum|Nina Strochlic|May 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For enthusiasm alone, he's awarded a draft with a two-inch head of foam.
The Stacks: The Neville Brothers Stake Their Claim as Bards of the Bayou|John Ed Bradley|April 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST

He thinks he is at the end of a great, sloppy ride falling backwards into the foam.
Weed Gave My Family Everything—Then Took It Away|Abby Haglage|April 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They opened their mouths, turned up their nostrils, and the foam was seen gathering on their lips.
Hendricks the Hunter|W.H.G. Kingston
All the men were vitalized into new life, but the storm rose at the same time, and spray and foam dashed over them.
The Sun Of Quebec|Joseph A. Altsheler
Already they could see the gleam of the Rakahanga beach with the rim of silver where the waves broke into foam.
The Book of Missionary Heroes|Basil Mathews
The earth trembles with the concussion, the waters hiss and foam and rush furiously over the impediments in their course.
The Western World|W.H.G. Kingston
But as he thought 'England and Germany,' the word 'England' seemed to flash like a line of foam.
Letters from America|Rupert Brooke

British Dictionary definitions for foam

foam

/ (fəʊm) /

noun

a mass of small bubbles of gas formed on the surface of a liquid, such as the froth produced by agitating a solution of soap or detergent in water

frothy saliva sometimes formed in and expelled from the mouth, as in rabies

the frothy sweat of a horse or similar animal

any of a number of light cellular solids made by creating bubbles of gas in the liquid material and solidifying it: used as insulators and in packaging
(as modifier)foam rubber; foam plastic

a colloid consisting of a gas suspended in a liquid

a mixture of chemicals sprayed from a fire extinguisher onto a burning substance to create a stable layer of bubbles which smothers the flames

a poetic word for the sea

verb

to produce or cause to produce foam; froth

(intr) to be very angry (esp in the phrase foam at the mouth)

Derived forms of foam

foamless, adjectivefoamlike, adjective

Word Origin for foam

Old English fām; related to Old High German feim, Latin spūma, Sanskrit phena

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for foam

foam

[ fōm ]

Small, frothy bubbles formed in or on the surface of a liquid, as from fermentation or shaking.

A colloid in which particles of a gas are dispersed throughout a liquid. Compare aerosol emulsion.

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