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Glite Dictionary
to foam up

to foam up

1 2.8
To become covered with bubbles
  • phrasal verb
  • /foʊm ʌp/
translation icon : espumar
  • And basically you wet one of these under the sink and it foams up and you can remove all your makeup with this.
  • the mixture will foam up
  • Water foamed up

And then I bought some whole sealer foam, that stuff that foams up and and fills holes.

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Examples

  • Also, it does take off the makeup by the time it foams up and you go to rinse, you really, you know, work this stuff into a nice rich lather.

  • And when it gets wet, it foams up like soap.

  • On mornings when we had time, I would heat up some milk and blend it until it foamed up.

    Blog text (26)

  • Spritz the seltzer until it foams up over the top.

    The Lost City (2005)

  • She picked it up and shook it in her hand, the milk foaming up.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • 2) While the yeast foams up, stir together the flour and salt in a large bowl.

    Blog text (29)

  • Once, when they had killed hogs and Elton and Mary had stayed at home to finish rendering their lard, the boiling fat had foamed up and begun to run over the sides of the kettle.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • I find it easiest to pour the liquid soap into the bowl first, stir in the washing soda, then add the baking soda, and then add the vinegar in small batches at a time (the recipe foams up at first).

    Blog text (18)

  • When you add vinegar to baking soda, it will foam up quickly, creating a fizzy reaction.

  • The soap will foam up nicely when you mix it with water and scrub your hands.

Synonyms

to bubble
vsto foam up
32 1.0

To make small round pockets of air appear in a liquid

often means make a thick layer of air pockets rather than only release them
to foam
vsto foam up
23 1.7

To become covered with small bubbles, like milk when heated

is identical in meaning but used with a particle to show becoming covered
to bubble up
vsto foam up
19 3.7

To move up in bubbles or appear suddenly

describes becoming covered broadly not necessarily moving upward or appearing
to froth
vsto foam up
10 3.0

To make small bubbles form on the surface of a liquid

is about becoming covered rather than only creating the mass
to form bubbles
vsto foam up
1 2.9

Make small round pockets of air inside or on a liquid

focuses on covering with a thick layer rather than merely making pockets

How Foamy

to froth
10 3.0
to foam up
1 2.8
to bubble
32 1.0

Surface Forms

foam up infinitive
foamed up past
foamed up past participle
foaming up present participle
foams up third person singular

Morphology

foam + up

The meaning 'to produce or become covered with foam or bubbles' is directly derivable from 'foam' (to generate bubbles) combined with the particle 'up', which adds a resultative/intensifying sense. This verb+particle composition follows standard English patterns and is cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

Foam up comes from a simple picture: when a liquid makes bubbles, the foam rises up to the surface. So, foam up means 'to produce or become covered with foam or bubbles'.