froth

American  

[frawth, froth] / frɔθ, frɒθ /

noun

1. an aggregation of bubbles, as on an agitated liquid or at the mouth of a hard-driven horse; foam; spume.

2. a foam of saliva or fluid resulting from disease.

3. something unsubstantial, trivial, or evanescent.

   The play was a charming bit of froth.

   Synonyms:

   nonsense, fluff, frivolity, triviality

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verb (used with object)

froths, present (3rd person singular) frothed, past participle, past frothing present participle

1. to cover with froth.

   giant waves frothing the sand.

2. to cause to foam.

   to froth egg whites with a whisk.

3. to emit like froth.

   a demagogue frothing his hate.

verb (used without object)

froths, present (3rd person singular) frothed, past participle, past frothing present participle

1. to give out froth; foam.

   frothing at the mouth.

froth British  

/ frɒθ /

noun

1. a mass of small bubbles of air or a gas in a liquid, produced by fermentation, detergent, etc

2. a mixture of saliva and air bubbles formed at the lips in certain diseases, such as rabies

3. trivial ideas, talk, or entertainment

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verb

1. to produce or cause to produce froth

2. (tr) to give out in the form of froth

3. (tr) to cover with froth

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• frother
  noun
• frothiness
  noun
• frothy
  adjective
• unfrothed
  adjective
• unfrothing
  adjective
• frothily
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• frothing
  present
• frothed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• froth
  simple
• froths
  simple
• have frothed
  perfect
• has frothed
  perfect
• am frothing
  progressive
• are frothing
  progressive
• is frothing
  progressive
• have been frothing
  perfect progressive
• has been frothing
  perfect progressive

Past

• frothed
  simple
• had frothed
  perfect
• was frothing
  progressive
• were frothing
  progressive
• had been frothing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will froth
  simple
• will have frothed
  perfect
• will be frothing
  progressive
• will have been frothing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of froth

1350–1400; Middle English frothe < Old Norse frotha froth, scum

Explanation

Froth is the gathering of small bubbles at the top of a drink, like the fizzy froth on the top of your root beer float. There's usually froth on the surface of soda, beer, and even coffee drinks like cappuccinos and lattes, which are topped with milk froth. You can use the word froth as a verb as well, to mean "fizz or foam up." Liquid soap might froth in your hands as you wash them, for example, and making candy sometimes involves cooking sugar syrup until it starts to froth. The word most likely comes from an Old Norse root, froða, or "froth."

Example Sentences

Instead, Mahan’s candidacy was more like Pets.com, a famous e-commerce flop that came to embody the heedless froth of the dot.com bubble.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2026

As the market moves toward a bubble, BofA analysts highlight where the froth already is.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026

Chief among them was the huge speculative froth that had developed in the earlier part of the year when gold recorded an intraday peak of $5,626 near the end of January.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 2, 2026

"Investors and traders are dipping their toes in the waters after the clear-out of a lot of the froth and leveraged speculative positions," said Saxo Markets' Neil Wilson.

From Barron's • Feb. 4, 2026

Captain Soderland would stroke his beard; Josiah would wipe the froth from his mustache and clap the captain on the shoulder blade.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson

Related Words

• foam
• scum