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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!


cream puff British  

noun

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

  2. informal an effeminate man

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of cream puff

First recorded in 1850–55


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

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

"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

The matcha cream puff is an explosion of matcha flavor.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 1, 2021

Mrs. Baker, who had somehow gotten up onto her desk, looked at me, then at the cream puff, and then back at me.

From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt

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