foil

[Foil]

You can serve as a foil to someone if you show them to be better than you by contrast. If you can't dance but your friend Lisa can, you can be a foil to Lisa's grace.

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To tread under foot; to trample.

Noun
a light slender flexible sword tipped by a button

Noun
a piece of thin and flexible sheet metal; "the photographic film was wrapped in foil"

Noun
picture consisting of a positive photograph or drawing on a transparent base; viewed with a projector

Noun
a device consisting of a flat or curved piece (as a metal plate) so that its surface reacts to the water it is passing through; "the fins of a fish act as hydrofoils"

Noun
anything that serves by contrast to call attention to another thing''s good qualities; "pretty girls like plain friends as foils"

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Verb
cover or back with foil; "foil mirrors"

Verb
hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of; "What ultimately frustrated every challenger was Ruth''s amazing September surge"; "foil your opponent"

Verb
enhance by contrast; "In this picture, the figures are foiled against the background"

v. t.
To tread under foot; to trample.

v. t.
To render (an effort or attempt) vain or nugatory; to baffle; to outwit; to balk; to frustrate; to defeat.

v. t.
To blunt; to dull; to spoil; as, to foil the scent in chase.

v. t.
To defile; to soil.

n.
Failure of success when on the point of attainment; defeat; frustration; miscarriage.

n.
A blunt weapon used in fencing, resembling a smallsword in the main, but usually lighter and having a button at the point.

n.
The track or trail of an animal.

n.
A leaf or very thin sheet of metal; as, brass foil; tin foil; gold foil.

n.
A thin leaf of sheet copper silvered and burnished, and afterwards coated with transparent colors mixed with isinglass; -- employed by jewelers to give color or brilliancy to pastes and inferior stones.

n.
Anything that serves by contrast of color or quality to adorn or set off another thing to advantage.

n.
A thin coat of tin, with quicksilver, laid on the back of a looking-glass, to cause reflection.

n.
The space between the cusps in Gothic architecture; a rounded or leaflike ornament, in windows, niches, etc. A group of foils is called trefoil, quatrefoil, quinquefoil, etc., according to the number of arcs of which it is composed.

Foil

Foil (foil), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Foiled (foild); p. pr. & vb. n. Foiling.] [F. fouler to tread or trample under one's feet, to press, oppress. See Full, v. t.] 1. To tread under foot; to trample.
King Richard . . . caused the ensigns of Leopold to be pulled down and foiled under foot.
Whom he did all to pieces breake and foyle, In filthy durt, and left so in the loathely soyle.
2. To render (an effort or attempt) vain or nugatory; to baffle; to outwit; to balk; to frustrate; to defeat.
And by mortal man at length am foiled.
Her long locks that foil the painter's power.
3. To blunt; to dull; to spoil; as, to foil the scent in chase. Addison.

Foil

Foil, v. t. [See 6th File.] To defile; to soil. [Obs.]

Foil

Foil, n. 1. Failure of success when on the point of attainment; defeat; frustration; miscarriage. Milton.
Nor e'er was fate so near a foil.
2. A blunt weapon used in fencing, resembling a smallsword in the main, but usually lighter and having a button at the point.
Blunt as the fencer's foils, which hit, but hurt not.
?socrates contended with a foil against Demosthenes with a word.
3. The track or trail of an animal. To run a foil,to lead astray; to puzzle; -- alluding to the habits of some animals of running back over the same track to mislead their pursuers.

Foil

Foil, n. [OE. foil leaf, OF. foil, fuil, fueil, foille, fueille, F. feuille, fr. L. folium, pl. folia; akin to Gr. , and perh. to E. blade. Cf. Foliage, Folio.] 1. A leaf or very thin sheet of metal; as, brass foil; tin foil; gold foil. 2. (Jewelry) A thin leaf of sheet copper silvered and burnished, and afterwards coated with transparent colors mixed with isinglass; -- employed by jewelers to give color or brilliancy to pastes and inferior stones. Ure. 3. Anything that serves by contrast of color or quality to adorn or set off another thing to advantage.
As she a black silk cap on him began To set, for foil of his milk-white to serve.
Hector has a foil to set him off.
4. A thin coat of tin, with quicksilver, laid on the back of a looking-glass, to cause reflection. 5. (Arch.) The space between the cusps in Gothic architecture; a rounded or leaflike ornament, in windows, niches, etc. A group of foils is called trefoil, quatrefoil, quinquefoil, etc., according to the number of arcs of which it is composed. Foil stone, an imitation of a jewel or precious stone.

To tread under foot; to trample.

To defile; to soil.

Failure of success when on the point of attainment; defeat; frustration; miscarriage.

A leaf or very thin sheet of metal; as, brass foil; tin foil; gold foil.

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Usage Examples

It's not common for a woman on television, especially if she's the mom of the family, to be funny. She's usually a straight man or foil.

Misspelled Form

foil, dfoil, rfoil, tfoil, gfoil, vfoil, cfoil, doil, roil, toil, goil, voil, coil, fdoil, froil, ftoil, fgoil, fvoil, fcoil, fioil, f9oil, f0oil, fpoil, floil, fiil, f9il, f0il, fpil, flil, foiil, fo9il, fo0il, fopil, folil, fouil, fo8il, fo9il, fooil, fojil, fokil, foul, fo8l, fo9l, fool, fojl, fokl, foiul, foi8l, foi9l, foiol, foijl, foikl, foikl, foiol, foipl, foi:l, foik, foio, foip, foi:, foilk, foilo, foilp, foil:.

Other Usage Examples

We can't gather the intelligence we need to foil future attacks, if we are blindly granting terrorists the right to remain silent. But for some reason, we've already done that - with the terrorist who tried to bring down Flight 253.

If you really want to diminish a candidate, depict him as the foil of his handler. This is as old in American politics as politics itself.