foil

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
(foil) pronunciation
tr.v., foiled, foil·ing, foils.
  1. To prevent from being successful; thwart.
  2. To obscure or confuse (a trail or scent) so as to evade pursuers.
n. Archaic
  1. A repulse; a setback.
  2. The trail or scent of an animal.

[Middle English foilen, to trample, defile, variant of filen, to defile. See file3.]


foil2 (foil) pronunciation
n.
  1. A thin, flexible leaf or sheet of metal: aluminum foil.
  2. A thin layer of polished metal placed under a displayed gem to lend it brilliance.
  3. One that by contrast underscores or enhances the distinctive characteristics of another: "I am resolved my husband shall not be a rival, but a foil to me" (Charlotte Brontë).
  4. The reflective metal coating on the back of a glass mirror.
  5. Architecture. A curvilinear, often lobelike figure or space formed between the cusps of intersecting arcs, found especially in Gothic tracery and Moorish ornament.
    1. An airfoil.
    2. Nautical. A hydrofoil.
tr.v., foiled, foil·ing, foils.
  1. To cover or back with foil.
  2. To set off by contrast.

[Middle English, from Old French foille, from Latin folia, pl. of folium, leaf.]


foil3 (foil) pronunciation
n.
  1. A fencing sword having a usually circular guard and a thin, flexible four-sided blade with a button on the tip to prevent injury.
  2. The art or sport of fencing with such a sword. Often used in the plural: a contest at foils.

[Origin unknown.]


verb

    To prevent from accomplishing a purpose: baffle, balk, check, checkmate, defeat, frustrate, stymie, thwart. Informal cross, stump. Idioms: cut the ground from under. See allow/prevent.


v

Definition: circumvent, nip in the bud
Antonyms: abet, advance, aid, assist, further, help

n. each of the structures fitted to a hydrofoil's hull to lift it clear of the water at speed.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

foil, a character whose qualities or actions serve to emphasize those of the protagonist (or of some other character) by providing a strong contrast with them. Thus in Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre, the passive obedience of Jane's school‐friend Helen Burns makes her a foil to the rebellious heroine.


1. In tracery, any of several rounded lobes that meet each other in points called cusps; widely used in Gothic architecture, Gothic Revival architecture, and Collegiate Gothic; see trefoil (three lobes), quatrefoil (four lobes), cinquefoil (five lobes), and multifoil (usually greater than five lobes).
2. A metallic substance formed into very thin sheets, usually by a rolling process.

foils


Top
pronunciation

IN BRIEF: Prevent from carrying out. Also: a very thin sheet of metal.

pronunciation The police department will try to foil the next bank robbery by posting guards at every bank.

LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!

i. A form of metal rolled into a very thin sheet with a thickness less than 0.006 in (0.15 mm).
ii. The spanwise-trailing-edge members forming an integral part of a compound wing.


n

A very thin, flexible sheet of metal, usually gold, platinum, or tin.

Random House Word Menu:

categories related to 'foil'

Top
Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to foil, see:

  See crossword solutions for the clue Foil.

Foil may refer to:

Materials
  • Foil (metal), a quite thin sheet of metal, usually manufactured with a rolling mill machine
  • Metal leaf, a very thin sheet of decorative metal
  • Aluminium foil, a type of wrapping for food
  • Tin foil, metal foil made of tin, the direct predecessor to aluminium foil
  • Plastic foil, a thin layer of plastic material
Fluid dynamics
Arts and culture
Mathematics
  • The FOIL method, a way to expand the product of two first-degree polynomials ("linear factors")
Navigation
  • Hydrofoil, a type of high-powered motorboat that uses underwater foils to lift its hull above the water when moving at high speeds
  • Bruce foil, a foil used on an outrigger to prevent a boat from heeling
  • Centerboard, a movable keel that functions as a foil
  • Foilboard, a surfboard using a hydrofoil
Other
Little-known techniques in papermaking
  • Foil (papermaking), a type of ving under the wire in the wire section of a paper machine creating a vacuum pulse to eliminate water from the stock (fibre/water slurry).
  • Ultrasonic foil (papermaking), a type of high frequency vibrating foil under the wire, creating cavitation, imploding vacuum bubbles, in the stock on the wire. The shock waves from the imploding bubbles will distribute the fibres more uniform in the paper web and this will give a stronger paper



Top

Dansk (Danish)
1.
v. tr. - forpurre, skuffe, komme på tværs af
n. - skuffelse, nederlag

2.
n. - folie, bæreplan
v. tr. - beklæde med folie, foliere

idioms:

  • aluminum foil    alufolie

3.
n. - fleuret, fægtekårde

Nederlands (Dutch)
folie, draagvleugel (boot), boog rondom figuur, floret, contrast, schermsport, verijdelen, met folie bedekken, verbeteren door contrast

Français (French)
1.
v. tr. - déjouer, contrecarrer
n. - repoussoir

2.
n. - papier aluminium, (abrév) de hydroptère
v. tr. - emballer dans du papier aluminium

idioms:

  • aluminium foil    papier aluminium

3.
n. - fleuret (escrime)

Deutsch (German)
1.
v. - vereiteln, durchkreuzen
n. - Niederlage, Fehlschlag

2.
n. - Folie
v. - mit Metallfolie belegen

idioms:

  • aluminium foil    Aluminiumfolie

3.
n. - Florett

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - ανατρέπω ή ματαιώνω σχέδια, προλαμβάνω
n. - λεπτό έλασμα, φύλλο (κν. πάφιλας), αλουμινόχαρτο, αντίθεση, ελαφρό ξίφος

idioms:

  • aluminum foil    αλουμινόχαρτο

Italiano (Italian)
sventare, fioretto, carta stagnola

idioms:

  • aluminum foil    foglio di alluminio

Português (Portuguese)
v. - laminar, frustar (plano ou tentativa)
n. - folha (f) fina de metal, florete (m) (esgrima)

idioms:

  • aluminum foil    folha (f) de alumínio

Русский (Russian)
фольга, станиоль, контраст, рапира, срывать, расстраивать, подводное крыло

idioms:

  • aluminum foil    алюминиевая фольга

Español (Spanish)
1.
v. tr. - prevenir, frustrar
n. - retroceso, contrariedad

2.
n. - papel de estaño, papel de plata, chapa, abrev. de hidrofoil
v. tr. - envolver con papel de aluminio

idioms:

  • aluminium foil    papel de aluminio

3.
n. - florete

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - foliera, bilda bakgrund åt, omintetgöra, korsa (jakt)
n. - folie, bladornament (arkitekt.), spår (jakt)

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 在...上贴箔, 给...铺箔, 箔, 金属薄片, 陪衬者, 陪衬物, 银箔

idioms:

  • aluminum foil    铝箔

2. 鬣兽逃跑的足迹, 挫败, 使受挫折, 阻扰, 击退

3. 钝头剑, 轻剑, 花剑, 花剑运动, 花剑剑术

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
v. tr. - 在...上貼箔, 給...鋪箔
n. - 箔, 金屬薄片, 陪襯者, 陪襯物, 銀箔

idioms:

  • aluminum foil    鋁箔

2.
n. - 鈍頭劍, 輕劍, 花劍, 花劍運動, 花劍劍術

3.
n. - 鬣獸逃跑的足跡
v. tr. - 挫敗, 使受挫折, 阻擾, 擊退

한국어 (Korean)
1.
v. tr. - 좌절 시키다, 헛되게 하다, 막다, ~을 물리치다
n. - (사냥 중에) 도망 간 발자국의 격퇴

2.
n. - 박, 거울 뒤에 입힌 박, 보석 밑에 까는 박
v. tr. - ~박을 입히다, 돋보이게 하다

3.
n. - 연습용 펜싱 칼

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 薄片, はく, 引き立てるもの, フルーレ
v. - 裏をかく, 挫く

idioms:

  • aluminum foil    アルミ箔

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يحبط , يمنع (الاسم) رقاقه معدنيه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮סיכל, הפר, הביס‬
n. - ‮תבוסה (מיושן), מסלול של חיה בורחת בעת ציד‬
n. - ‮ריקוע, נייר אלומיניום, ניגוד‬
v. tr. - ‮כיסה או חיזק בריקוע מתכת, יצר ניגוד‬
n. - ‮סיף - חרב עם כפתור בקצה לסיוף‬


Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:

Copyrights: