Styrofoam

American  

[stahy-ruh-fohm] / ˈstaɪ rəˌfoʊm /

Trademark.

1. a brand of expanded plastic made from polystyrene.

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Styrofoam British  

/ ˈstaɪrəˌfəʊm /

noun

1. (sometimes not capital) a light, expanded polystyrene plastic

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Etymology

Origin of Styrofoam

C20: from _polystyrene + _foam

Compare meaning

How does styrofoam compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• polystyrene vs. Styrofoam

Example Sentences

The cause of the blaze remains unclear but officials said on Friday that Styrofoam placed on the outside of the windows facilitated its rapid spread.

From BBC

“How come you can tell us about plastic and Styrofoam and earthquakes, but you can’t tell me about Y2K?”

From Literature

On blustery afternoons, my street’s geography sends every scrap of airborne litter to my curb: candy wrappers, Styrofoam peanuts and Trader Joe’s receipts that reveal too much about the neighbors’ taquitos intake.

From The Wall Street Journal

There are no discarded once-frozen coffee drinks sweating rings onto wooden tables; no empty Styrofoam takeout containers littering kitchen counters mere inches away from the trash can.

From Los Angeles Times

Early on, Boo Boo’s frozen cups consisted of Kool-Aid poured into a Styrofoam cup and placed in a freezer.

From Salon