cream
Americannoun
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the fatty part of milk, which rises to the surface when the liquid is allowed to stand unless homogenized.
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a soft solid or thick liquid containing medicaments or other specific ingredients, applied externally for a prophylactic, therapeutic, or cosmetic purpose.
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Usually creams. a soft-centered confection of fondant or fudge coated with chocolate.
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a purée or soup containing cream or milk.
cream of tomato soup.
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the best part of anything.
the cream of society.
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a yellowish white; light tint of yellow or buff.
verb (used without object)
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to form cream.
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to froth; foam.
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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.
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Slang: Vulgar. Also cream one's jeans.
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to have an orgasm, especially to ejaculate or experience glandular lubrication of the vagina.
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to be overcome, as in rapturous admiration or delight.
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verb (used with object)
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to work (butter and sugar, or the like) to a smooth, creamy mass.
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to prepare (chicken, oysters, vegetables, etc.) with cream, milk, or a cream sauce.
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to allow (milk) to form cream.
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to skim (milk).
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to separate as cream.
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to take the cream or best part of.
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to use a cosmetic cream on.
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to add cream to (tea, coffee, etc.).
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Slang.
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to beat or damage severely; lambaste.
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to defeat decisively.
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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.
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adjective
idioms
noun
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the fatty part of milk, which rises to the top if the milk is allowed to stand
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( as modifier )
cream buns
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anything resembling cream in consistency
shoe cream
beauty cream
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the best one or most essential part of something; pick
the cream of the bunch
the cream of the joke
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a soup containing cream or milk
cream of chicken soup
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any of various dishes, cakes, biscuits, etc, resembling or containing cream
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a confection made of fondant or soft fudge, often covered in chocolate
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a full-bodied sweet sherry
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a yellowish-white colour
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( as adjective )
cream wallpaper
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verb
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(tr) to skim or otherwise separate the cream from (milk)
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(tr) to beat (foodstuffs, esp butter and sugar) to a light creamy consistency
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(intr) to form cream
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(tr) to add or apply cream or any creamlike substance to
to cream one's face
to cream coffee
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to take away the best part of
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(tr) to prepare or cook (vegetables, chicken, etc) with cream or milk
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to allow (milk) to form a layer of cream on its surface or (of milk) to form such a layer
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slang (tr) to beat thoroughly
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slang (intr) (of a man) to ejaculate during orgasm
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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creamsimple
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creamssimple
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have creamedperfect
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has creamedperfect
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am creamingprogressive
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are creamingprogressive
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is creamingprogressive
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have been creamingperfect progressive
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has been creamingperfect progressive
Past
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creamedsimple
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had creamedperfect
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was creamingprogressive
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were creamingprogressive
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had been creamingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing cream
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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:
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
WSJ | Buy Side: This countertop ice cream maker delivers smooth, professional-quality frozen treats.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
For something colder, Clementine’s ice cream is the most scoopable straight-from-the-freezer pint I’ve ever tried, with traditional, vegan and alcohol-infused “naughty” flavors to choose from.
From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026
The early 2000s saw the arrival of coconut water, once seen as way to use up a byproduct from coconut cream that caught on years later.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 11, 2026
She suggested we ditch dinner altogether and go to an old-fashioned ice cream parlor that she and Uncle Jack used to love.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
The executive aims to modernize the Columbus, Ohio-based retailer of fragrances, scented candles, body creams and decorative soaps through an expanded digital presence, refreshed product mix and more-creative marketing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
Pistachio cold foam now perches atop iced coffees from nationwide chains, Dubai chocolate knock-offs sit at every grocery checkout stand and boutique patisseries fill croissants with pistachio butters and creams.
From Salon ● May 6, 2026
Social media has raised the profile of so-called “dirty soda,” a once-niche trend that involves mixing soda with shots of flavored creams, flavored syrup or pureed fruit.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 29, 2026
Dr Adrian Hayter, from the Royal College of GPs, explains: "If a patient is on a repeat prescription with steroid creams we need to have follow ups and make sure they are using them appropriately."
From BBC ● Apr. 10, 2026
Justice Strauss had on a dreamy expression, as if she were about to be crowned queen, instead of just having some powders and creams smeared on her face.
From "The Bad Beginning" by Lemony Snicket
We’re big on breakfast for dinner, so maybe we’d have some poached eggs on toast or poached eggs on creamed spinach.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
“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
If you’re not in the mood for a hulking sirloin — and if just creamed spinach and a frosted martini feel like insufficient ballast — skip the burger.
From Salon ● Mar. 11, 2026
Smith flogged anything short and creamed drives whenever the ball was full.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2025
By the time I lugged in the dessert tray-rice pudding, lemon biscuits, two creamed pear tarts, and an iced cake- the fire was blazing and the room much warmer.
From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson
“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
In addition to the melting point, there’s a least one more major difference in how fat and shortening perform during creaming.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 25, 2022
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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
