cream

American  

[kreem] / krim /

noun

• creams
  plural

1. the fatty part of milk, which rises to the surface when the liquid is allowed to stand unless homogenized.

2. a soft solid or thick liquid containing medicaments or other specific ingredients, applied externally for a prophylactic, therapeutic, or cosmetic purpose.

3. Usually creams. a soft-centered confection of fondant or fudge coated with chocolate.

4. a purée or soup containing cream or milk.

   cream of tomato soup.

5. the best part of anything.

   the cream of society.

6. a yellowish white; light tint of yellow or buff.

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verb (used without object)

• creams,
  present (3rd person singular)
• creamed,
  past participle,  past
• creaming
  present participle

1. to form cream.

2. to froth; foam.

3. Informal. to advance or favor only the wealthiest, most skilled or talented, etc., especially so as to reap the benefits oneself.

   Management is creaming by advancing only the most productive workers.

4. Slang: Vulgar. Also cream one's jeans.

   1. to have an orgasm, especially to ejaculate or experience glandular lubrication of the vagina.

   2. to be overcome, as in rapturous admiration or delight.

verb (used with object)

• creams,
  present (3rd person singular)
• creamed,
  past participle,  past
• creaming
  present participle

1. to work (butter and sugar, or the like) to a smooth, creamy mass.

2. to prepare (chicken, oysters, vegetables, etc.) with cream, milk, or a cream sauce.

3. to allow (milk) to form cream.

4. to skim (milk).

5. to separate as cream.

6. to take the cream or best part of.

7. to use a cosmetic cream on.

8. to add cream to (tea, coffee, etc.).

9. Slang.

   1. to beat or damage severely; lambaste.

   2. to defeat decisively.

   3. to accomplish, especially to pass (a test or course), with great ease and success.

      She creamed the math test, getting the highest grade in the class.

adjective

1. of the color cream; cream-colored.

idioms

1. cream of the crop, the best or choicest.

   a college that accepts only students who are the cream of the crop.

cream British  

/ kriːm /

noun

1. 1. the fatty part of milk, which rises to the top if the milk is allowed to stand

   2. ( as modifier )

      cream buns

2. anything resembling cream in consistency

   shoe cream

   beauty cream

3. the best one or most essential part of something; pick

   the cream of the bunch

   the cream of the joke

4. a soup containing cream or milk

   cream of chicken soup

5. any of various dishes, cakes, biscuits, etc, resembling or containing cream

6. a confection made of fondant or soft fudge, often covered in chocolate

7. a full-bodied sweet sherry

8. 1. a yellowish-white colour

   2. ( as adjective )

      cream wallpaper

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verb

1. (tr) to skim or otherwise separate the cream from (milk)

2. (tr) to beat (foodstuffs, esp butter and sugar) to a light creamy consistency

3. (intr) to form cream

4. (tr) to add or apply cream or any creamlike substance to

   to cream one's face

   to cream coffee

5. to take away the best part of

6. (tr) to prepare or cook (vegetables, chicken, etc) with cream or milk

7. to allow (milk) to form a layer of cream on its surface or (of milk) to form such a layer

8. slang (tr) to beat thoroughly

9. slang (intr) (of a man) to ejaculate during orgasm

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• creamlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• creams
  plural

Participles

• creaming
  present
• creamed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• cream
  simple
• creams
  simple
• have creamed
  perfect
• has creamed
  perfect
• am creaming
  progressive
• are creaming
  progressive
• is creaming
  progressive
• have been creaming
  perfect progressive
• has been creaming
  perfect progressive

Past

• creamed
  simple
• had creamed
  perfect
• was creaming
  progressive
• were creaming
  progressive
• had been creaming
  perfect progressive

Future

• will cream
  simple
• will have creamed
  perfect
• will be creaming
  progressive
• will have been creaming
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of cream

1300–50; Middle English creme < Anglo-French, Old French cresme < Late Latin chrīsma chrism

Explanation

Cream is the part of milk that's especially rich, creamy, and fatty. Many people like to add cream to their coffee. Heavy cream can be whipped until it's thick, and light cream might be added to a soup or sauce to add richness. Another kind of cream is a thick lotion, like a skin cream or a night cream. When you cream ingredients together, you mix them until they're fluffy. Calling someone "the cream of the crop," means they're the very best at what they do, and when you cream someone in a game of tennis, you win easily.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cream creams creamed creaming

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

Staff at a much-loved family-run ice cream business say they are "devastated" after announcing it is closing its doors after 106 years of business due to rising costs.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

There were no more lines for many different Dudamel T-shirts, just leftover Hollywood Bowl ones, and no wait for popcorn or ice cream.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

On a warm summer evening in Shafter, kids played baseball, families strolled downtown for ice cream and men in cowboy hats watched the sunset from a park.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

What if Laurence went out to get some ice cream and didn’t remember to lock the door to his house and someone broke into it and stole Thor?

From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. Arnold

A van served ice creams and a pop-up-shop in an oversize metal crate was selling beers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

His shop would typically sell up to 400 ice creams a day.

From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026

Just north of Bath, Marshfield Farm churns out some of the West Country's best-known ice creams using milk from its own herd.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

Ice creams: from the unbeatable to the unlickable.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026

At the factory, Nancy, Bess, George, and Kendra ran up onto the stage with their ice creams.

From "Scream for Ice Cream: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #2" by Carolyn Keene

“Then we went to the far north side of Chicago to a Lithuanian neighborhood to play some grizzled old guys upstairs at the top of an old, smoky bar. They creamed us.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

Smith flogged anything short and creamed drives whenever the ball was full.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2025

Little Pete is going to great lengths to avoid dancing at all, including chugging 15 gallons of creamed corn.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2025

Sink into one of the plush leather banquettes to nosh on steakhouse classics like steak tartare, creamed kale and the most incredible double cheeseburger topped with in-house American cheese and dill aioli.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 1, 2024

I sit at the little table, eating creamed corn with a fork.

From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood

“I spend most of my time rubbing creams all over my body. … Face cream, eye cream, foot cream, just constantly creaming myself.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2024

The addition of one substance doubled the available latex and that yield was increased by 12-fold when a creaming agent was added for purification.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 23, 2024

Matt Downie, chief executive of the homeless charity Crisis, has called it "a really Wild West system where the winners are the people creaming off very large profits".

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2022

During the process of creaming, you're incorporating air into the mixture, while also combining the butter and sugar.

From Salon ● Dec. 19, 2021

It was then that she went through her beauty routine, a cleansing, creaming ritual, which on Saturday nights included washing her hair.

From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote

Related Words

• jelly
• ointment
• paste