Styrofoam
Americannoun
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:
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.
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 • Nov. 28, 2025
She then reached for a Styrofoam mannequin’s head that was on a shelf in the closet.
From Slate • Nov. 15, 2025
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 • Oct. 8, 2025
These practices included recycling, reducing food waste, not using Styrofoam, etc.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 15, 2024
Gramps is staring into the dregs of his Styrofoam cup, peeling away the top of it so that little white balls collect in his lap.
From "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman
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.
