custard

American  

[kuhs-terd] / ˈkʌs tərd /

noun

custards plural

1. a dessert made of eggs, sugar, and milk, either baked, boiled, or frozen.

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custard British  

/ ˈkʌstəd /

noun

1. a baked sweetened mixture of eggs and milk

2. a sauce made of milk and sugar and thickened with cornflour

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• custards
  plural

Etymology

Origin of custard

1400–50; late Middle English, metathetic variant of earlier crustade kind of pie. See crust, -ade ¹; compare Provençal croustado

Compare meaning

How does custard compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• custard vs. ice cream

Explanation

Custard is a sweet, pudding-like dessert that's usually made with eggs. You might prefer frozen custard to ice cream as a summertime treat. Custard comes in a few different forms, including baked, frozen, and boiled. Baked custard is made with a combination of eggs, milk or cream, sugar, and sometimes flavoring, chocolate, or spices, that's cooked in small dishes sitting in a pan of water. The result is smooth, creamy, and rich. In the 14th century, a custard was a "meat or fruit pie," from croustado, an Old Provençal word literally meaning "something covered with crust."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

custard custards

Arley Harriman, a retired advertising executive living in Delavan, Wisc., said she loves Culver’s service and cleanliness, plus the quality of its cod sandwiches and custard ice cream.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

"Last year I produced around 20 tonnes. This year, it's about 25 tonnes. There is huge demand for custard apple in India and abroad," he says.

From BBC ● May 25, 2026

Add the brioche to the custard mixture and gently toss to coat.

From Salon ● May 25, 2026

A knobbly fruit the size of a large avocado, its creamy, sweet flesh tastes a bit like custard - hence the name.

From BBC ● May 25, 2026

“A dessert is a sweet food eaten at the end of a meal. Popular desserts include cake and custard and ice cream.”

From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown

From cakes and pies, “Ready for Dessert” moves on to custards and soufflés; frozen desserts; cookies and candies; and basics, such as sauces, creams, etc.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025

The FDA guidance sets a lead limit of 10 parts per billion for fruits, most vegetables, grain and meat mixtures, yogurts, custards and puddings and single-ingredient meats.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 8, 2025

You can freeze leftover yolks for future custards, or just throw an extra yolk into any egg dish you're making this week.

From Salon ● Feb. 4, 2023

His restaurant experiments with induction burners for recipes that are highly temperature-sensitive, such as custards and caramel.

From New York Times ● Jan. 14, 2023

“One quarter of rhubarb and custards, and one of crystallized ginger.”

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell