<B>foam, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a mass of very small bubbles formed in water or other liquids especially by agitation, fermentation, effervescence, or boiling. <BR> <I>Ex. Another kind of extinguisher that is valuable for oil fires pours or throws a foam on the fire (Beauchamp, Mayfield, and West).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the frothy saliva formed in the mouth in epilepsy or rabies. <DD><B> 3. </B>the frothy white perspiration covering a horse or other animal as the result of hard labor. <DD><B> 4. </B>a spongy, flexible, or semirigid material made from various plastics or rubber by solidification of the basic material around air bubbles. <BR> <I>Ex. polyurethane foam, latex foam.</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to form or gather foam; froth. <BR> <I>Ex. The soda foamed over the glass.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to break into foam; emit foam. <BR> <I>Ex. The stream foams over the rocks. (Figurative.) The angry old man foamed for quite a while about the insulting behavior of his grandchildren.</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to cause to foam. <BR> <I>Ex. The boy foamed the soap in the water.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to cover with foam. <BR> <I>Ex. Children love to foam their hands with soap.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to fill with foaming liquor. <DD><B> 4. </B>to give (plastic or rubber) a spongy, flexible texture by solidifying it around trapped air or gas bubbles. noun <B>foamer.</B> adv. <B>foamingly.</B> adj. <B>foamless.</B> adj. <B>foamlike.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="foambow">
<B>foambow, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a bow, similar to a rainbow, formed by sunlight upon foam or spray. </DL>
<A NAME="foamed">
<B>foamed, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> made with foam; spongy. <BR> <I>Ex. Foamed plastics come in two distinct kinds--rigid and flexible (Manchester Guardian).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="foamflower">
<B>foamflower, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a North American spring-blooming herb of the saxifrage family, having white flowers. </DL>
<A NAME="foamglass">
<B>foam glass</B> or <B>foamed glass,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a lightweight, porous glass, used especially as a heat insulator in buildings and a substitute for cork. </DL>
<A NAME="foamrubber">
<B>foam rubber,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a soft, spongy rubber used especially for mattresses and cushions; sponge rubber. It is made by beating thickened latex into foam or by using a vacuum to cause gas to generate, and then stabilizing the foam with chemicals. </DL>
<B>fob</B> (1), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a short watch chain or ribbon that hangs out of a watch pocket. <DD><B> 2. </B>an ornament worn on the end of such a chain or ribbon. <DD><B> 3. </B>a small pocket for holding a watch, ticket stubs, or change. </DL>
<A NAME="fob">
<B>fob</B> (2), verb, <B>fobbed,</B> <B>fobbing,</B> noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> to deceive by a trick; cheat. <BR> <I>Ex. While everyone else he is fobbing, He still may be honest to me (Henry Fielding).</I> <DD><I>noun </I> a trick; an artifice. <BR><I>expr. <B>fob off,</B> <DD><B> a. </B>to put off or deceive by a trick. </I> <I>Ex. Inquiries from children should never be fobbed off (Punch).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>to palm off or get rid of by a trick. <BR> <I>Ex. It is an outrage to fob off such elementary stuff as higher education (Saturday Evening Post).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="fob">
<B>f.o.b.</B> or <B>FOB</B> (no periods),<DL COMPACT><DD> free on board. The price $850, f.o.b. Detroit, means $850 does not include freight expenses after the article is on a freight carrier at Detroit. </DL>
<A NAME="fobchain">
<B>fob chain,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a watch chain hanging free from a pocket and usually carrying a seal, key, or other ornament. </DL>
<A NAME="fobs">
<B>FOBS, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (a nuclear-weapon system in which warheads are delivered to targets on earth from an orbiting space vehicle in order to escape detection by conventional radar). </DL>
<A NAME="focal">
<B>focal, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of a focus; having to do with a focus. See also <B>focal length.</B> adv. <B>focally.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="focalinfection">
<B>focal infection,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an infection in a particular area, as in a tooth or a gland, from which infection spreads or can spread to other parts. </DL>
<A NAME="focalize">
<B>focalize, </B>verb, <B>-ized,</B> <B>-izing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to focus: <DD><B> a. </B>to bring (rays of light, heat, or other radiation) into focus. <DD><B> b. </B>(Figurative:) <BR> <I>Ex. The information about sales is focalized in the company's main office and put before the sales manager.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to localize (an infection or other danger) at a particular site of activity. <DD><I>v.i. </I> to come to a focus. noun <B>focalization.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="focallength">
<B>focal length</B> or <B>distance,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the distance from the optical center of a lens or mirror to the principal point of focus. <BR> <I>Ex. The simple astronomical telescope, which is the basis of modern refracting telescopes, contains two double convex lenses at a distance apart equal to the sum of their focal lengths (Robert H. Baker).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the distance between the objective of a telescope and the image that is mirrored. </DL>
<A NAME="focalplane">
<B>focal plane,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(Optics.) a plane through the focal point of a lens. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Photography.) the plane where the object image is brought into sharp focus. </DL>
<A NAME="focalplaneshutter">
<B>focal-plane shutter,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Photography.) a shutter that is mounted close to the focal plane of the lens. </DL>
<A NAME="focalpoint">
<B>focal point,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(Optics.) the point where rays of light are focused. <BR> <I>Ex. When an image strikes the objective, the light waves are bent by the lens until they come to one bright point, known as the focal point (R. William Shaw).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the center of attention, interest, or other attraction. <BR> <I>Ex. Our company seems to be the focal point of many rumors involving alleged mergers (Wall Street Journal).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="foci">
<B>foci, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> focuses; a plural of <B>focus.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="foco">
<B>foco, </B>noun, pl. <B>-cos.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a small guerrilla center radiating revolutionary activity throughout a country. </DL>
<B>focus, </B>noun, pl. <B>-cuses</B> or <B>-ci,</B> verb, <B>-cused,</B> <B>-cusing</B> or (especially British) <B>-cussed,</B> <B>-cussing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a point at which rays of light, heat, or other radiation, meet after being reflected from a mirror or bent by a lens or lenslike or mirrorlike device. <DD><B> 2a. </B>the distance from a lens, mirror, or lenslike or mirrorlike device, to a point where rays from it meet; focal length. <BR> <I>Ex. A near-sighted eye has a shorter focus than a normal eye.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>a point at which rays of light (or their prolongations) that diverge from (or converge toward) one point meet and form an image after being bent by a lens, curved mirror, or other reflecting or refracting device. <DD><B> c. </B>the correct adjustment of a lens, the eye, or lenslike device, to make a clear image. <BR> <I>Ex. If my camera is not brought into focus, the photograph will be blurred.</I> <DD><B> d. </B>that point or position of an object necessary to produce a clear image. <DD><B> e. </B>the clear and well-defined state of an image. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) a central point of attention, activity, disturbance, or other attraction. <BR> <I>Ex. The new baby was the focus of attention.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Geometry.) <DD><B> a. </B>a fixed point used in determining a conic section. A parabola has one focus, while an ellipse or a hyperbola has two foci. <DD><B> b. </B>a point having a similar relation to some other curve. <DD><B> 5. </B>the point where an earthquake originates. <DD><B> 6. </B>(Medicine.) the principal site of a pervasive disease or the area where a disease's activity is localized. <BR> <I>Ex. The focus of a disease is the part of the body where it is most active.</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to bring (rays of light, heat, or other radiation) to a point. <BR> <I>Ex. The lens focused the sun's rays on a piece of paper and burned a hole in it.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to adjust (a lens, the eye, or lenslike device) to make a clear image. <BR> <I>Ex. A near-sighted person cannot focus accurately on distant objects. His eyes were so tired that he had difficulty focusing them.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to make (an image or focus of rays) clear by adjusting a lens, the eye, or lenslike device. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) to concentrate or direct. <BR> <I>Ex. When studying, he focused his mind on his lessons.</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to converge to a focus. <DD><B> 2. </B>to adjust the eye or an optical instrument for clear vision. <BR> <I>Ex. Focus upon some distinct object.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>in focus,</B> </I>clear; distinct. <BR> <I>Ex. After a certain distance all objects will be in focus (Walter Woodbury).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>out of focus,</B> </I>blurred; indistinct. <BR> <I>Ex. In the course of a [song] he might ... execute a perfect, slightly out of focus scale (Whitney Balliett).</I> noun <B>focuser.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="focusgroup">
<B>focus group,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a group of people brought together to give their opinion about a particular issue, product, policy, or the like. <BR> <I>Ex. Advisors have heeded focus groups that show voters are uncomfortable with excessively negative ads (Richard Zoglin).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="fodder">
<B>fodder, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> coarse food for horses, cattle, and similar domestic animals. Hay and cornstalks with their leaves are fodder. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to give fodder to (horses, cattle, or the like). <DD><I>v.i. </I> to obtain feed or fodder. </DL>
<A NAME="fodgel">
<B>fodgel, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Scottish.) squat and plump. </DL>
<A NAME="foe">
<B>foe, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B><B>=enemy.</B> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) anything that harms or is likely to injure. </DL>
<A NAME="foe">
<B>F.O.E.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> Fraternal Order of Eagles. </DL>
<A NAME="foehn">
<B>foehn, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a warm, dry south wind that blows down the leeward slope of a mountain, especially in the Alps. Also, <B>fohn.</B> </DL>
