cream puff

American  

[kreem puhf] / ˈkrim ˌpʌf /

Or creampuff

noun

1. a nearly hollow shell made from choux pastry and filled with custard or whipped cream.

2. Slang.

   1. a weak or timid person.

   2. a gay man.

3. Slang. a vehicle or machine that has been kept in unusually good condition or is very easy to operate.

   Wow, this old Rolls drives like a dream. What a cream puff!

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cream puff British  

noun

1. a shell of light pastry with a custard or cream filling

2. informal an effeminate man

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Etymology

Origin of cream puff

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

The final scene, in which Titus enters dressed as a chef, a cream puff of a toque jauntily placed on his head—he’s baked those unpalatable pies—retains its deranged tone.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

Gluck’s opera “Orfeo ed Euridice” is a funny thing: a timeless Greek myth of separation and loss, twisted into a Viennese cream puff.

From New York Times • May 24, 2024

"It's the kind of flavor of pistachio you might find in a pistachio cream puff," Ramirez said.

From Salon • Jan. 26, 2023

Their cream puff schedule generated absolutely no preseason buzz.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 10, 2022

Liyana licked custard from a cream puff and stared at their familiar, rumpled neighbors in their summer clothes.

From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye

Related Words

• profiterole