spumenoun [ U ]
/spjuːm//spjuːm/white foam (= bubbles) on the top of waves in water:
The overcast sky merged with the spume of the waves.
More examples
- Beyond the white spume of the breakers, you can sometimes see whales.
- Spume whipped up from the grey waves.
- A deep layer of spume hid everything but the mast of the ship.
- The waves smashed into the rocky coastline, creating instant waterfalls of white spume.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Waves
- break
- breaker
- choppy
- comber
- crest
- heavy
- lap
- overfall
- ripple
- roller
- rough
- standing wave
- swell
- tidal wave
- tsunami
- wake
- wave
- white horses
- whitecaps
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spumeverb [ I ]
/spjuːm//spjuːm/If water or waves spume somewhere, they move there while producing foam (= bubbles):
The sea was spuming over the harbour walls.
More examples
- Spray was spuming up from my surfboard.
- A 300 foot waterfall spumed below.
- During the great storm of 1756, waves spumed right across the island.
- When the hatches were opened, more water was sent spuming under the mill.