foam definition | Dictionary.com

foam

[fohm]

–noun

1.	a collection of minute bubbles formed on the surface of a liquid by agitation, fermentation, etc.: foam on a glass of beer.

2.	the froth of perspiration, caused by great exertion, formed on the skin of a horse or other animal.

3.	froth formed from saliva in the mouth, as in epilepsy and rabies.

4.	a thick frothy substance, as shaving cream.

(in firefighting)

a.	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.

b.	the layer of bubbles so formed.

6.	a dispersion of gas bubbles in a solid, as foam glass, foam rubber, polyfoam, or foamed metal.

7.	Literary. the sea.

–verb (used without object)

8.	to form or gather foam; emit foam; froth.

–verb (used with object)

9.	to cause to foam.

10.	to cover with foam; apply foam to: to foam a runway before an emergency landing.

11.	to insulate with foam.

12.	to make (plastic, metal, etc.) into a foam.

—Idiom

13.	foam at the mouth, to be extremely or uncontrollably angry.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME fom, OE fām; c. G Feim

Related forms:

foam⋅a⋅ble, adjective

foamer, noun

foam⋅ing⋅ly, adverb

foamless, adjective

foamlike, adjective

Synonyms:
1. froth, spume, head, fizz; scum.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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foam (fōm)

1. A mass of bubbles of air or gas in a matrix of liquid film, especially an accumulation of fine, frothy bubbles formed in or on the surface of a liquid, as from agitation or fermentation.
2. A thick chemical froth, such as shaving cream or a substance used to fight fires.
3. Frothy saliva produced especially as a result of physical exertion or a pathological condition.
4. The frothy sweat of a horse or other equine animal.
1. Frothy saliva produced especially as a result of physical exertion or a pathological condition.
2. The frothy sweat of a horse or other equine animal.
The sea.
Any of various light, porous, semirigid or spongy materials used for thermal insulation or shock absorption, as in packaging.

v. foamed, foam·ing, foams

v. intr.

To produce or issue as foam; froth.
1. To produce foam from the mouth, as from exertion or a pathological condition.
2. To be extremely angry; rage: was foaming over the disastrous budget cuts.
To teem; seethe: a playground foaming with third graders.

v. tr.

To cause to produce foam.
To cause to become foam.

[Middle English fom, from Old English fām.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Foam

Foam\, n. [OE. fam, fom, AS. f?m; akin to OHG. & G. feim.] The white substance, consisting of an aggregation of bubbles, which is formed on the surface of liquids, or in the mouth of an animal, by violent agitation or fermentation; froth; spume; scum; as, the foam of the sea.

Foam cock, in steam boilers, a cock at the water level, to blow off impurities.

Foam

Foam\, v.i. [imp. & p. p. Foamed; p. pr. & vb. n. Foaming.] [AS. f?man. See Foam, n.]

1. To gather foam; to froth; as, the billows foam.

He foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth. --Mark ix. 18.

2. To form foam, or become filled with foam; -- said of a steam boiler when the water is unduly agitated and frothy, as because of chemical action.

Foam

Foam\, v.t. To cause to foam; as,to foam the goblet; also (with out), to throw out with rage or violence, as foam. "Foaming out their own shame." --Jude 13.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : foam

Spanish: espuma,

German: der Schaum,

Japanese: あわ

More Translations »

foam (n.)

O.E. fam "foam, saliva froth," from W.Gmc. *faima (cf. O.H.G. veim, Ger. Feim), from PIE *poim(n)o- (cf. Skt. phenah; L. pumex "pumice," spuma "foam;" O.C.S. pena "foam;" Lith. spaine "a streak of foam"). The verb is from O.E. famgian "to foam." The rubber or plastic variety so called from 1937.

Main Entry: foam
Pronunciation: 'fOm
Function: noun
: a light frothy mass of fine bubbles formed in or on the surface of a liquid foamfor contraceptive use> —foam verb

foam (fōm) Pronunciation Key

Small, frothy bubbles formed in or on the surface of a liquid, as from fermentation or shaking.
A colloid in which particles of a gas are dispersed throughout a liquid. Compare aerosol , emulsion.

Foam

(Hos. 10:7), the rendering of _ketseph_, which properly means twigs or splinters (as rendered in the LXX. and marg. R.V.). The expression in Hosea may therefore be read, "as a chip on the face of the water," denoting the helplessness of the piece of wood as compared with the irresistable current.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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foam

in physical chemistry, a colloidal system (i.e., a dispersion of particles in a continuous medium) in which the particles are gas bubbles and the medium is a liquid. The term also is applied to material in a lightweight cellular spongy or rigid form. Liquid foams are sometimes made relatively long-lasting-e.g., for fire fighting-by adding some substance, called a stabilizer, that prevents or retards the coalescence of the gas bubbles. Of the great variety of substances that act as foam stabilizers, the best known are soaps, detergents, and proteins. Proteins, because they are edible, find wide use as foaming agents in foodstuffs such as whipped cream, marshmallow (made from gelatin and sugar), and meringue (from egg white). The foam used to combat oil fires consists of bubbles of carbon dioxide (liberated from sodium bicarbonate and aluminum sulfate) stabilized by dried blood, glue, or other cheap protein-containing materials. Beer foam is believed to be stabilized by the colloidal constituents present, which include proteins and carbohydrates. Foaming may be undesirable, as in lubricating oils, and its prevention is not always easy. Aqueous foams usually can be broken by treatment with small amounts of certain alcohols.

Learn more about foam with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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