/fɹɒθ/, /fɹɔθ/, /fɹɑθ/
OriginFrom Middle English froth, frooth, froþ, likely a borrowing from Old Norse froða, from Proto-Germanic *fruþǭ; Old English āfrēoþan (“to foam, froth”) is from same Germanic root. Verb attested from late 14th century. Compare Swedish fradga.
- countable, uncountableFoam.
“Froth is a very important feature of many types of coffee.”
“He replaced her again breadthwise on the couch, unable to sit up, with her thighs open, between which I could observe a kind of white liquid, like froth, hanging about the outward lips of that recentl” — Fanny Hill
“Froth or scum at the paper machine consists largely of clay, rosin, and starch.”
- countable, figuratively, uncountableUnimportant or insubstantial talk, events, or actions; drivel.
“Thousands of African children die each day: why do the newspapers continue to discuss unnecessary showbiz froth?”
“The discussion at the conference was mostly froth and posturing.”
“But is it possible for those who speak of God promiscuously and at random, is it possible that they should utter his Name with reverence, when all the rest of the Discourse is nothing but Froth and Le”
- countable, uncountableThe idle rich.
“That it offers the best imaginable field for the economical employment of the least useful of our population, viz. "the froth and the dregs,” those of both extremes of the social scale who prefer adve”
“I do not think that there were in the boxes or the lower part of the house a score of persons who were not identified, in one way or another, with this froth of New York society.”
“Voltaire says that the population of England is like her ale: at the top there is nothing but froth; at the bottom there is nothing but dregs; but between these extremes all is excellent.”
- countable, uncountableHighly speculative investment.
“Efforts of this kind, spurred on to fever heat by tax incentives can only generate inflationary froth - not real hard investment.”
“In effect Friedman and Scwartz are not blaming the Fed for creating asset market inflation (and as we have seen, this concept should include the empowerment of irrational forces across asset markets i”
“There are very clearly signs of late-cycle froth in financial markets, everything from equities, to corporate credit, and real estate, especially in the US and, as a result, the risk of an overdue cor”
- transitiveTo create froth in (a liquid).
“I like to froth my coffee for ten seconds exactly.”
“One lacquey carried the chocolate-pot into the sacred presence; a second, milled and frothed the chocolate with the little instrument he bore for that function; a third, presented the favoured napkin;”
“These sources do not, however, state why the drink is called lambswool. The name comes from the way the apples are roasted until they split open, and their pulp froths over the skin; this is used to f”
- intransitive(of a liquid) To bubble.
“Colder and louder blew the wind,
A gale from the Northeast,
The snow fell hissing in the brine,
And the billows frothed like yeast.”
“English beer, along with European brews, is already the subject of an EEC investigation to determine whether additives like stabilizers (used to prevent frothing during shipment) should be allowed.”
- transitiveTo spit, vent, or eject, as froth.
“The Mufti reddens; mark that holy cheek.
He frets within, froths treason at his mouth,
And churns it thro’ his teeth […]”
“[…] is your spleen frothed out, or have ye more?”
- intransitive(literally) To spew saliva as froth; (figuratively) to rage, vent one's anger.
“The clumsy suckling struck out with her still soft claws,
opened her frothing mouth until her milk teeth shone.”
“As doctors tried in vain to save April's right eye, news stories frothed at her assailant. He was “fiendish” (the Examiner), “sadistic” (the News-Call Bulletin), “probably a sexual psychopath” (the Ch”
- transitiveTo cover with froth.
“A horse froths his chain.”
Formsfroths(plural) · froths(present, singular, third-person) · frothing(participle, present) · frothed(participle, past) · frothed(past)