Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

éclair

American  
[ey-klair, ih-klair, ey-klair] / eɪˈklɛər, ɪˈklɛər, ˈeɪ klɛər /

noun

  1. a finger-shaped cream puff, filled with whipped cream, custard, or pastry cream, often coated with icing.

éclair British  
/ ɪˈklɛə, eɪˈklɛə /

noun

  1. a finger-shaped cake of choux pastry, usually filled with cream and covered with chocolate

"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 éclair

1860–65; < French: literally, lightning (flash), Old French esclair, noun derivative of esclairier to light, flash < Vulgar Latin *exclariāre, for Latin exclārāre, equivalent to ex- ex- 1 + clārāre to make bright, derivative of clārus clear

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.

I’m one heavenly bite into a mini éclair, and he shoots me a judgmental glare.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 11, 2022

Once you assemble the éclair cake you have to tuck it into the fridge overnight, and ideally for a whole day.

From Salon • Apr. 19, 2022

I do not recall what became of this botched beginning but am quite positive it did not magically turn into a chocolate éclair.

From Slate • Jul. 9, 2018

He wheels his bike confidently up to the cafe, birdlike and sprightly in a striped shirt and skinny jeans, and wolfs down an éclair.

From New York Times • Aug. 6, 2016

Tantalus, amid his parched seeking of a cooling draught, never suffered more anguish than Skippy sitting there before that undefended éclair, with only a gesture intervening.

From Skippy Bedelle His Sentimental Progress From the Urchin to the Complete Man of the World by Fuhr, Ernest

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.