Dictionary.com

Popular Searches

 Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

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.

The council has since crammed its operation into an old cupcake shop, and continues to run on a mix of state and federal funding and private donations.

From The Wall Street Journal

She often ate until she felt uncomfortably full and was especially drawn to sugary and salty foods such as packaged cupcakes, fast-food roast beef sandwiches, and French fries.

From Science Daily

The 10-2 Irish lost their first two games of the season before embarking on their usual cupcake schedule.

From Los Angeles Times

Plus we all saw you dip a cupcake into a bag of Stove Top.

From The Wall Street Journal

A dusting of snowflakes still clung to the envelope, like a sprinkling of white sugar on a cupcake.

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.