foil
1Archaic. a defeat; check; repulse.
Origin of foil
1Other words for foil
Other words from foil
- foil·a·ble, adjective
- un·foil·a·ble, adjective
Words Nearby foil
Other definitions for foil (2 of 3)
metal in the form of very thin sheets: aluminum foil.
the metallic backing applied to glass to form a mirror.
a thin layer of metal placed under a gem in a closed setting to improve its color or brilliancy.
a person or thing that makes another seem better by contrast: The straight man was an able foil to the comic.
Architecture. an arc or a rounded space between cusps, as in the tracery of a window or other ornamentation.
to cover or back with foil.
to set off by contrast.
Origin of foil
2Other words for foil
Other definitions for foil (3 of 3)
a flexible four-sided rapier having a blunt point.
foils, the art or practice of fencing with this weapon, points being made by touching the trunk of the opponent's body with the tip of the weapon.
Origin of foil
3Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use foil in a sentence
Later, Melenda would send me off with a warm slice of her homemade rum cake wrapped in aluminum foil.
Until I Can Go Back to My Favorite Restaurant, This Jerk Paste Is the Next Best Thing | Elazar Sontag | September 25, 2020 | EaterTypically, they’re refreshing, tart, and often physically chilled, making an ideal foil to the highly spiced meat.
Turn a cheap chicken dinner into a Turkish street-food getaway | SAVEUR Editors | September 25, 2020 | Popular-ScienceThe new design is “tabless,” which means the rolled-up foils inside each cell won’t need a metal tab running its length in order to enable charging and discharging.
Tesla’s new battery tech promises a road to a cheap self-driving electric car | Stan Horaczek | September 24, 2020 | Popular-ScienceHe’s turned the group into a boogeyman of sorts, and it serves as a perfect foil for a president and a conservative movement looking to cast the overwhelmingly peaceful participants in protests over police brutality as a group of violent thugs.
Line an open box with aluminum foil, and use it to reflect sunlight into the box.
Frank no longer has his convenient foil from The Lay of the Land, his Tibetan associate Mike Mahoney.
Richard Ford’s Artful Survivalist Guide: The Return of Frank Bascombe | Tom LeClair | November 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBut his lumbering lurch toward the Ted Cruz tin-foil-hat convention should instead be an object lesson for Republicans to come.
If McConnell really thinks that, then why not foil their scheme by voting yes?
The Gender-Pay Gap: It’s Real, and Yes, It’s Sexism | Monica Potts | September 27, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTFrench and Crown one rib rack and season with salt and pepper, cover exposed bones with foil, cook in oven at 350 for 2.5 hours.
Epic Meal Empire’s Meat Monstrosities: From the Bacon Spider to the Cinnabattleship | Harley Morenstein | July 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe image really serves as a foil to the victim on the tape.
True Detective’s Red Herring: Actress Erin Moriarty, Who Plays Marty’s Daughter, Tells All | Marlow Stern | March 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTA small palm tree was set in the midst of the arena,—the trunk bronze, the leaves one sheen of gold-foil.
God Wills It! | William Stearns DavisOut of the panic at Big Shanty two men emerged, determined, if possible, to foil the unknown captors of their train.
General Hancock's head-quarters' flag,—the tree-foil of the Second Corps,—was waving on the ridge southwest of the house.
The Boys of '61 | Charles Carleton Coffin.For two ounces of liquid I should recommend a sheet of stout silver foil, about two inches long and half an inch broad.
"You bet they're the real thing," said Tough McCarty, slipping off the foil.
The Varmint | Owen Johnson
British Dictionary definitions for foil (1 of 3)
/ (fɔɪl) /
to baffle or frustrate (a person, attempt, etc)
hunting (of hounds, hunters, etc) to obliterate the scent left by a hunted animal or (of a hunted animal) to run back over its own trail
archaic to repulse or defeat (an attack or assailant)
hunting any scent that obscures the trail left by a hunted animal
archaic a setback or defeat
Origin of foil
1Derived forms of foil
- foilable, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for foil (2 of 3)
/ (fɔɪl) /
metal in the form of very thin sheets: gold foil; tin foil
the thin metallic sheet forming the backing of a mirror
to back or cover with foil
Also: foliate architect to ornament (windows) with foils
Origin of foil
2British Dictionary definitions for foil (3 of 3)
/ (fɔɪl) /
a light slender flexible sword tipped by a button and usually having a bell-shaped guard
Origin of foil
3Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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