froth
Americannoun
-
an aggregation of bubbles, as on an agitated liquid or at the mouth of a hard-driven horse; foam; spume.
-
a foam of saliva or fluid resulting from disease.
-
something unsubstantial, trivial, or evanescent.
The play was a charming bit of froth.
- Synonyms:
- nonsense, fluff, frivolity, triviality
verb (used with object)
-
to cover with froth.
giant waves frothing the sand.
-
to cause to foam.
to froth egg whites with a whisk.
-
to emit like froth.
a demagogue frothing his hate.
verb (used without object)
noun
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a mass of small bubbles of air or a gas in a liquid, produced by fermentation, detergent, etc
-
a mixture of saliva and air bubbles formed at the lips in certain diseases, such as rabies
-
trivial ideas, talk, or entertainment
verb
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to produce or cause to produce froth
-
(tr) to give out in the form of froth
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(tr) to cover with froth
Other Word Forms
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."
Vocabulary lists containing froth
An Excerpt from "The Underground Railroad" by Colson Whitehead
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The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
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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.
Times of froth tend to see companies linked to the theme du jour—internet, 3-D printing, electric vehicles, crypto, AI, etc.—lead the charts.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 19, 2026
A key factor will be whether enough market froth has been removed—and enough speculative positions washed out—to put fundamentals back in the driver’s seat.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 2, 2026
The 2008 stock market crash and the pandemic-related crash in 2020 cleansed the market of at least some of its froth, making many hostile bids more inviting.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 11, 2025
The recent selloff appears to have let some froth out of the market, but without endangering the three-year bull run in stocks.
From MarketWatch • Nov. 15, 2025
Closing my eyes, I pictured the ocean stretched out the color of fresh-polished silver, the white froth on it, light scattering everywhere.
From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd
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.
