foam
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.
to form or gather foam; emit foam; froth.
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.
Idioms about foam
foam at the mouth, to be extremely or uncontrollably angry.
Origin of foam
1Other words for foam
Other words from foam
- foam·a·ble, adjective
- foamer, noun
- foam·ing·ly, adverb
- foamless, adjective
- foamlike, adjective
- de·foam, verb (used with object)
- un·foamed, adjective
- un·foam·ing, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
British Dictionary definitions for foam
/ (fəʊm) /
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
to produce or cause to produce foam; froth
(intr) to be very angry (esp in the phrase foam at the mouth)
Origin of foam
1Derived forms of foam
- foamless, adjective
- foamlike, adjective
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
[ 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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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