mousse

[ moos ]

noun

1. Cooking.
   1. a sweetened and flavored dessert with a base of whipped cream, beaten egg whites, or both:

      chocolate mousse.

   2. an aspic, unsweetened and containing meat, vegetables, or fish, usually chilled in a mold:

      salmon mousse.

2. a foamy preparation used on the hair to help hold it in place, applied usually to damp hair before grooming or styling and worked in until absorbed.

mousse

/ muːs /

noun

1. a light creamy dessert made with eggs, cream, fruit, etc, set with gelatine
2. a similar dish made from fish or meat
3. the layer of small bubbles on the top of a glass of champagne or other sparkling wine
4. See styling mousse
   short for styling mousse

Word History and Origins

Origin of mousse¹

First recorded in 1890–95; from French: literally, “moss, froth”; partly from Latin (aqua) mulsa “hydromel” (feminine singular of adjective mulsus “mixed with honey, sweet”); partly from Germanic; moss

Word History and Origins

Origin of mousse¹

C19: from French: froth

Example Sentences

Dessert is a rich mousse made from donated chocolate and almost-past-its-prime cream.

From Time

For two quarters each, we eat like queens—chocolate mousse on a sugar cone for her, hot fudge swirled through banana ice cream for me.

From Time

It all comes together to make a beautiful disc of mousse on soft milk bread, without collapsing into any sort of nonsense about authenticity or purity.

From The Daily Beast

Her mother makes a dozen or so cakes, most in fruit flavors, and I could make a case for every slice on display — raspberry, apricot, caramel mousse — that I’ve tried.

From Washington Post

In the bathroom she wet my hair and then puffed it out with some mousse.

From The Daily Beast

Lay the smoked salmon slices out, on the work surface, fill with a spoonful of the mousse and roll up to make roulades.

From The Daily Beast

This list will also likely include petit fours, mini éclairs, trifle, and chocolate and lemon mousse.

From The Daily Beast

Banana ice cream, frozen chocolate mousse, a web of spun sugar, almond cake, chocolate crunches.

From The Daily Beast

A summer meal might include gougéres, gazpacho, tuna persille, chicken, two cheese courses, and chocolate mousse.

From The Daily Beast

Malgr les efforts du bateau de sauvetage et des lignes envoyes au moyen du fusil porte-amarre, quatre hommes et le mousse ont pri.

From Project Gutenberg

As the pads retain cold as well as they do heat, the ice does not melt, and the mousse gradually freezes itself.

From Project Gutenberg

Last of all came the vanilla mousse, each glass topped by a big strawberry.

From Project Gutenberg

When cream was used, it was made into mousse, and of course frozen in the tireless stove.

From Project Gutenberg

In addition to being attractive, caramel mousse is so delicious that it appeals to practically every one.

From Project Gutenberg