adjective
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Etymology
Origin of foamy
before 1000; Middle English fomy, Old English fāmig. See foam, -y 1
Explanation
Something that's foamy is frothy, or full of tiny air bubbles. A cake recipe might instruct you to beat three eggs until they're foamy. A mug of root beer is foamy on top, and waves on a beach have a bubbly, foamy appearance too. A handful of shaving cream is foamy, and so is a dollop of whipped cream on top of your ice cream sundae. Foamy comes from the Old English faemig, "covered with foam," from fam, which means both "foam" and "the sea" in Old English.
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:
“Freshly made A&W, in those glass mugs, had a foamy head, like draft beer,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
Researchers found evidence that certain fats associated with foamy microglia may also be detectable in cerebrospinal fluid.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 29, 2026
It was all quiet and business as usual, except for the roaring trucks that were spraying foamy "detergent" on the pavement.
From Barron's ● Apr. 25, 2026
One woman from Car Nicobar told me that when the earthquake struck, the ground started to spew foamy water at the same time as the waves came in from the sea.
From BBC ● Dec. 25, 2024
Highly enjoyable though it was to swim in hot and foamy water with clouds of different-colored steam wafting all around him, no stroke of brilliance came to him, no sudden burst of understanding.
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
Mars’ atmospheric pressure won’t accomplish this as well, meaning you could be left with a drink that’s much foamier than you expect.
From Slate ● Nov. 29, 2017
As this happens, the magma takes on a foamier consistency, increasing its speed and mobility.
From Time Magazine Archive
She wore a wonderful gown all white and gold down the front, with the foamiest of sea-foam green trains hanging from her shoulders away out behind her.
From Boys and Girls Bookshelf (Vol 2 of 17) Folk-Lore, Fables, And Fairy Tales by W. J. (Winton James) Baltzell
There was the cottage of some summer people well above the village level, among pines and birches, and overlooking the foamiest rush of the Saco, to which he instantly destined the piano of Phyllis Desmond.
From A Pair of Patient Lovers by William Dean Howells
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.
