cream cheese

American  

noun

• cream cheeses
  plural

1. a soft, white, smooth-textured, unripened, spreadable cheese made of sweet milk and sometimes cream.

2. Gulf States. cottage cheese.

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cream cheese British  

noun

1. a smooth soft white cheese made from soured cream or milk

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Regionalisms

See cottage cheese.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• cream cheeses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of cream cheese

First recorded in 1575–85

Compare meaning

How does cream-cheese compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• mascarpone vs. cream cheese
• cottage cheese vs. cream cheese

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cream cheese

It might also mean a thick slice of homemade apple Bundt cake under a generous coat of cream cheese icing, eaten with coffee.

From Salon ● Aug. 31, 2026

Roll it out cinnamon-roll style, spread with cream cheese, Parmesan, herbs and hot giardiniera, then coil, slice and nestle the spirals together in a buttered skillet.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

When my neck shrine was finally finished, it was pronounced "exquisite" and left to dry, while salt beef and cream cheese beigels arrived from nearby Brick Lane.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

It was gooey, soft and slathered in a classic tangy cream cheese frosting.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026

“There’s no cream cheese in the math problem, Jake.”

From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein