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cupcake

American  
[kuhp-keyk] / ˈkʌpˌkeɪk /

noun

  1. a small cake, the size of an individual portion, baked in a cup-shaped mold.

  2. Older Slang.

    1. a sexually attractive young woman.

    2. a beloved girl or woman.

cupcake British  
/ ˈkʌpˌkeɪk /

noun

  1. a small cake baked in a cup-shaped foil or paper case

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of cupcake

An Americanism dating back to 1820–30; cup + cake

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.

"Unlike muffins, cupcakes, or biscuits, cakes are designed to be sliced and shared," she says.

From BBC

So the veteran plaintiff’s lawyer from Texas showed them two grocery items: cupcakes and tortillas.

From The Wall Street Journal

The sensory mismatch — a coconut-flavored “potato” — is a little kid’s dream, like the Jelly Belly “Bean Boozled” pack or a cupcake that looks like a hamburger.

From Salon

It was his ninth birthday, and she’d found enough change to buy him a chocolate–peanut butter cupcake with sprinkles.

From Literature

Her favorite treat was a chocolate cupcake but whenever she started licking the frosting or crumbs off the wrapper, Mrs. Palmer said it wasn’t polite to lick the wrapper, and made her stop.

From Literature

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.