foaming

Meanings

1. 1adjectivebefore a noun

   Producing, or covered with, a mass of tiny bubbles.

   Grammar: Usually comes before a noun: a foaming wave.

   Patterns

   • foaming with something

   The foaming waves crashed against the rocks.

   She poured the foaming milk into the cup.

   A foaming stream rushed down the hillside after the storm.

2. 2adjectiveidiominformalfigurative

   Extremely angry; used in the phrase 'foaming at the mouth'.

   Grammar: Part of the idiom foaming at the mouth, used after be or look.

   Patterns

   • foaming at the mouth

   He was foaming at the mouth when he heard the news.

   The coach was foaming with rage after the referee's decision.

   Fans were foaming at the mouth over the cancelled concert.

Common combinations

foaming at the mouth

The customer was practically foaming at the mouth over the delay.

foaming waves

Foaming waves rolled up the beach.

foaming bath

She sank into a foaming bath after the long hike.

foaming beer

He set down a glass of foaming beer.

foaming cleanser

A foaming cleanser removes makeup quickly.

Synonyms and how they differ

frothy

Frothy suggests light, airy bubbles, as on a milkshake, while foaming can describe thicker or more active bubbling.

bubbling

Bubbling describes the movement of larger bubbles, whereas foaming describes the mass of bubbles on the surface.

fizzy

Fizzy usually describes drinks that give off gas, but foaming describes the mass of bubbles itself.

furious

Furious expresses anger directly, whereas foaming at the mouth is a vivid, informal image of it.

Opposites

Word family

foam noun

a mass of small bubbles; also a verb meaning to produce them

foamy adjective

covered with or full of foam

foam rubber noun

soft, spongy rubber full of tiny air holes

Commonly confused: foaming or forming?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “foaming”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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