croissant
Americannoun
-
croissants
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of croissant
1895–1900; < French: literally, crescent
Explanation
A croissant is a buttery, crescent-shaped French pastry. Good croissants are light, flaky, and delicately sweet. Enjoy one with a cup of coffee — preferably while sitting in a charming Parisian cafe. The croissant gets its name from its shape: in French, the word means "crescent" or "crescent of the moon." The Austrian pastry known as a Kipferl is the croissant's ancestor—in the 1830s, an Austrian opened a Viennese bakery in Paris, which became extremely popular and inspired French versions of the Kipferi, eventually named the croissant.
Vocabulary lists containing croissant
Stairway To Leaven: Baking Vocabulary
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World Cuisine - Introductory
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World Cuisine - Middle School and High School
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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:
One person, who was not given medical care, was using a plastic croissant wrapper as a dressing.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
His manifestos mix smart political satire with comedic promises to cap croissant prices, improve WiFi on UK trains and conscript people using speakerphones on public transport.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
Winocour’s filmmaking itself is as steely as a Parisian’s gaze after you order the last croissant à la pâtisserie.
From Salon ● Jun. 29, 2026
The croissant I ordered was fine, but the atmosphere was lovely — open and airy with a communal wood table inside and green and white bistro chairs outside.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026
I pull out the croissant, which is something I’ve never had before.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
Besides wine, the course is marked with tables of cheese, croissants, oysters, steak and ice cream.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Merchandise available on Count Binface's website includes T-shirts with the slogan "I fight fascists and extortionate croissants".
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
They serve coffee, doughnuts, croissants and avocado toast.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
The show closes with Ava and Deborah as the best of friends, enjoying croissants while waiting for a train at Paris’ Gare de Lyon.
From Salon ● May 29, 2026
Castleman’s Bakery, home of the legendary cheese croissants, was right across from the entrance to City College.
From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser
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.
