a collection of minute bubbles formed on the surface of a liquid by agitation, fermentation, etc.: foam on a glass of beer.
the froth of perspiration, caused by great exertion, formed on the skin of a horse or other animal.
froth formed from saliva in the mouth, as in epilepsy and rabies.
a thick frothy substance, as shaving cream.
(in firefighting)
a chemically produced substance that smothers the flames on a burning liquid by forming a layer of minute, stable, heat-resistant bubbles on the liquid's surface.
the layer of bubbles so formed.
a dispersion of gas bubbles in a solid, as foam glass, foam rubber, polyfoam, or foamed metal.
Literary. the sea.
verb (used without object)
to form or gather foam; emit foam; froth.
verb (used with object)
to cause to foam.
to cover with foam; apply foam to: to foam a runway before an emergency landing.
to insulate with foam.
to make (plastic, metal, etc.) into a foam.
Idioms for foam
foam at the mouth, to be extremely or uncontrollably angry.
Origin of foam
before 900; Middle English fom,Old English fām; cognate with German Feim
The best example of that would be my first year when Kevin Hart hosted, we wrote a sketch called “Foam Party.”
How Aidy Bryant Stealthily Became Your Favorite ‘Saturday Night Live’ Star|Kevin Fallon|October 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Near the Mason jars are foam heads, the kind a showgirl uses to style her wigs.
Best Career Arc Ever: From Burlesque To Bartending|Anne Berry|September 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They chew this thing, a real thing, they do this until they foam at the mouth.
New York’s Tiniest—and Weirdest—Museum|Nina Strochlic|May 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For enthusiasm alone, he's awarded a draft with a two-inch head of foam.
The Stacks: The Neville Brothers Stake Their Claim as Bards of the Bayou|John Ed Bradley|April 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He thinks he is at the end of a great, sloppy ride falling backwards into the foam.
Weed Gave My Family Everything—Then Took It Away|Abby Haglage|April 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They opened their mouths, turned up their nostrils, and the foam was seen gathering on their lips.
Hendricks the Hunter|W.H.G. Kingston
All the men were vitalized into new life, but the storm rose at the same time, and spray and foam dashed over them.
The Sun Of Quebec|Joseph A. Altsheler
The earth trembles with the concussion, the waters hiss and foam and rush furiously over the impediments in their course.
The Western World|W.H.G. Kingston
Already they could see the gleam of the Rakahanga beach with the rim of silver where the waves broke into foam.
The Book of Missionary Heroes|Basil Mathews
But as he thought 'England and Germany,' the word 'England' seemed to flash like a line of foam.
Letters from America|Rupert Brooke
British Dictionary definitions for foam
foam
/ (fəʊm) /
noun
a mass of small bubbles of gas formed on the surface of a liquid, such as the froth produced by agitating a solution of soap or detergent in water
frothy saliva sometimes formed in and expelled from the mouth, as in rabies
the frothy sweat of a horse or similar animal
any of a number of light cellular solids made by creating bubbles of gas in the liquid material and solidifying it: used as insulators and in packaging
(as modifier)foam rubber; foam plastic
a colloid consisting of a gas suspended in a liquid
a mixture of chemicals sprayed from a fire extinguisher onto a burning substance to create a stable layer of bubbles which smothers the flames
a poetic word for the sea
verb
to produce or cause to produce foam; froth
(intr)to be very angry (esp in the phrase foam at the mouth)
Derived forms of foam
foamless, adjectivefoamlike, adjective
Word Origin for foam
Old English fām; related to Old High German feim, Latin spūma, Sanskrit phena