foam rubber
3
2.8
- noun
- /foʊm ˈrʌbər/
:
goma espuma
- Besides, with its fat pillows filled with cheap, chopped-up foam rubber, it was vastly more comfortable than the icy spareness of the Whites' Bauhaus furnishings.
What's funny is it's a goat that's made out of yellow felt and foam rubber and ping pong ball eyes.
- What's funny is it's a goat that's made out of yellow felt and foam rubber and ping pong ball eyes.
Examples
-
A team of designers and seamstresses cut, sew, and shape endless sheets of orange foam rubber.
Fiction book (2002) -
A man in a puffy foam-rubber rhinoceros costume is dancing under the bright, friendly lights of a television studio.
Fiction book (2002) -
For a foam rubber ball of a particular density, the invention is far and away the most interesting thing.
Blog text (24) -
Another rhino and various foam-rubber animals dance behind him to the happy music.
Fiction book (2002) -
Sticks can also be wrapped with tape or foam rubber to facilitate handling.
Academic text (2004) -
Stamp onto a foam rubber stamping mat with heavy, even pressure.
Blog text (23) -
Gibbs says that Stifler has to sit on a foam rubber doughnut for six weeks.
-
The mattress landed on edge behind her, instantly reduced to a thousand shreds of canvas and foam rubber shrapnel.
Fiction book (1996) -
The new Airflo chairs, however, "like rocking chairs," are made up of wide foam rubber with six-inch armrests and springs to imitate rocking chairs.
Academic text (2016) -
The sofa was incredibly comfortable because it was made of soft foam rubber.
Synonyms
74
2.6
A light material made of many small air bubbles used for cushioning or insulation
How Soft
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'foam' (mass of gas-filled cells) + 'rubber' (elastic polymer) describes a type of rubber that is foamed (soft, spongy). This noun–noun compound follows a common, predictable pattern across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Foam rubber comes from making rubber into foam by trapping many tiny air bubbles so the material becomes soft and springy. That's why foam rubber means the 'soft, spongy' material used in cushions, mattresses, and shoe insoles to absorb shock and add comfort.