foam

[ fohm ]

/ foʊm /

|||

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR foam ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

Nearby words

fo'c's'le, fo'c'sle, fo, dario, fo., foal, foam, foam at the mouth, foam cell, foam glass, foam rubber, foamed metal

Idioms

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 MORE SYNONYMS FOR foam ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

foam·a·ble, adjectivefoam·er, nounfoam·ing·ly, adverbfoam·less, adjective

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples 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 Formsfoamless, 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

Word Origin and History for foam (1 of 2)

foam

Old English fam "foam, saliva froth," from West Germanic *faimo- (cf. Old High German veim, German Feim), from PIE *(s)poi-mo-, a root with connotations of "foam, froth" (cf. Sanskrit phenah; Latin pumex "pumice," spuma "foam;" Old Church Slavonic pena "foam;" Lithuanian spaine "a streak of foam"). The rubber or plastic variety so called from 1937.

Word Origin and History for foam (1 of 2)

foam

Old English famgian "to foam," from the source of foam (n.). Related: Foamed; foaming.

Science 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.

foam

noun

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

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Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of foam

Examples from the Web for foam

British Dictionary definitions for foam

foam

noun

verb

Word Origin for foam

Word Origin and History for foam (1 of 2)

foam

Word Origin and History for foam (1 of 2)

foam

Science definitions for foam

foam