croissant
Americannoun
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:
Besides the croissant, the wedge salad sold at counter service restaurant Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta located in California Adventure saw a hike of more than 20% from $11.99 to $14.79.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 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
I use it two days later to buy a loaf of rye bread, plus pastries for Salmon and me: ham-and-cheese croissant, cinnamon bun.
From Slate ● May 10, 2026
Bar hopefuls fill four or five diner-style tables, drinking beer and snacking on menu fare ranging from made-to-order pizza to chicken tinga tacos and farm fresh eggs on a croissant.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
He walks now to the corner, decides to get another croissant at the boulangerie where he and Moushumi go every morning to buy breakfast.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
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
French bakeries sold crusty baguettes and flaky croissants with government backing Friday, defying labour unions arguing that May 1 should remain a sacred day of compulsory rest.
From Barron's ● May 1, 2026
So Radonich made changes, adding more shuttle trips and switching up the morning food offerings, adding things like breakfast burritos and stuffed croissants.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 24, 2026
He was happy to find a tray of fresh croissants that had been left unattended near a delivery door.
From "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" by Brian Selznick
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.
