frothy
Americanadjective
-
of, like, or having froth; foamy.
-
unsubstantial; trifling; shallow; empty.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of frothy
Explanation
Something frothy is composed of many small air bubbles. You might like your cappuccino frothy but probably not your tap water. If you order a cappuccino at a cafe, you'll get a cup of strong coffee topped with frothy milk, and a cake recipe might instruct you to beat four eggs until they're frothy. In both examples, air bubbles cause a liquid to become foamy and creamy. A frothy person, however, is bubbly in a different way, full of life and excitement. There's often an implication of "insubstantial," or even "silly" when a person or idea is described as frothy.
Vocabulary lists containing frothy
This Week in Words: December 9 - 15, 2017
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The Jumbies
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The Battle of the Labyrinth
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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.
"What is slowly but surely contracting, and has been for decades now, is the bright, shiny, frothy top, see-through lager market."
From BBC • May 25, 2026
Tech stocks, meanwhile, are starting to look frothy.
From Barron's • May 15, 2026
What’s the best way to judge a frothy market?
From MarketWatch • May 12, 2026
On the plains of northwestern Iran, edged by snow-ribboned ridges, spring nudges almond trees into frothy bloom and a fragile ceasefire brings more traffic onto highways, and more Iranians back to their homeland.
From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026
Lately it reminded Bridge of the cold, frothy antibiotics she took as a little kid.
From "Goodbye Stranger" by Rebecca Stead
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.
