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.
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
He says he saw soldiers in gas masks outside, and men washing the street with a foamy solution.
From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026
The apple’s signature foamy texture means it is an easy bruiser and doesn’t store as well as other varieties.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 15, 2025
We always soaked tiny sections of fabric in the foamy water first to check if the colors would run, although we knew they would not.
From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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.
