foram

US: (fôr′əm)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

for•am  (fôr′əm), n. 

1. Microbiology foraminifer.

• by shortening

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

for•a•min•i•fer  (fôr′ə min′ə fər, for′-), n., pl. for•a•min•i•fers, fo•ram•i•nif•er•a 

(fə ram′ə nif′ər ə).  any chiefly marine protozoan of the sarcodinian order Foraminifera, typically having a linear, spiral, or concentric shell perforated by small holes or pores through which pseudopodia extend. Also called fo•ram•i•nif•er•an  (fə ram′ə nif′ər ən), foram. 
• Neo-Latin Foraminifera, equivalent. to Latin forāmin-, stem of forāmen foramen + -ifera; see -i-, -fer
• 1835–45
fo•ram′i•nif′er•al, fo•ram′i•nif′er•ous, adj.