foam
/ˈfɔʊ̯m/noun, verb
foam is spelled F-O-A-M: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 6.0 times per million words in written English, the 9,878th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, foam means “A substance composed of a large collection of bubbles or their solidified remains, especially” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of foam is foams.
How many letters and syllables are in foam?
| Letters | 4: F-O-A-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 6.0 times per million words; the 9,878th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is foam?
Foam appears 6.0 times per million words in written English, the 9,878th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce foam?
- UK /ˈfəʊ̯m/
- UK [ˈfəʊ̯m]
- US /ˈfɔʊ̯m/
Foam has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-foam.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of foam
- foams plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- foaming participle, present
- foamed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does foam mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A substance composed of a large collection of bubbles or their solidified remains, especially
- 2
A collection of small bubbles created when the surface of a body of water is moved by tides, wind, etc.
- 3
A collection of small bubbles formed from bodily fluids such as saliva or sweat.
- 4
A collection of small bubbles on the surface of a liquid that is heated, fermented or carbonated.
- 5
A collection of small bubbles created by mixing soap with water.
- 6
A collection of small bubbles formed by mixing an extinguishing agent with water, used to cover and extinguish fires.
- 7
A food prepared in the form of a mass of airy bubbles.
His specialty is a mango foam.
- 8
A material formed by trapping pockets of gas in a liquid or solid.
A foam mat can soften a hard seat.
verb
- 1
To form or emit foam.
- 2
To spew saliva as foam; to foam at the mouth.
- 3
To coat or cover with foam.
It used to be common practice to foam the runway prior to an emergency landing, in case a fuel-fed fire occurred.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Foam in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | écume, mousse , écumer, mousser |
| German | Schaum , schäumen , Schaumgummi |
| Portuguese | espuma , espumar |
| Spanish | espuma , espumar, espumear , gomaespuma, foam |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does foam come from?
From Middle English fom, foom, from Old English fām, from Proto-West Germanic *faim, from Proto-Germanic *faimaz, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)poHy-m-os, from *(s)poH(y)- (“foam”). Cognate with German Feim (“foam”), Latin spūma (“foam”), Latin pūmex (“pumice”), Sanskrit फेन (phéna, “foam”), possibly Northern Kurdish fê (“epilepsy”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).