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• frappe
  frappe

  noun

  a milkshake made with ice cream.
• frappé
  frappé

  noun

  a fruit juice mixture frozen to a mush, to be served as a dessert, appetizer, or relish.

frappe

¹ American  

[frap] / fræp /

noun

Northeastern U.S. (chiefly Eastern New England).

1. a milkshake made with ice cream.

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frappé ² American  

[fra-pey, fra-pey] / fræˈpeɪ, fraˈpeɪ /

noun

frappés plural

1. a fruit juice mixture frozen to a mush, to be served as a dessert, appetizer, or relish.

2. an after-dinner drink consisting of a liqueur, as crème de menthe, poured over cracked or shaved ice.

3. frappe.

4. Ballet. a beating of the toe of the working foot against the ankle of the supporting foot.

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adjective

1. chilled; iced; frozen.

verb (used with object)

frappéed, frappéing

1. to make a frappé of.

   to frappé rum, fruit juice, and cracked ice.

frappé British  

/ frape, ˈfræpeɪ /

noun

1. a drink consisting of a liqueur, etc, poured over crushed ice

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adjective

1. (postpositive) (esp of drinks) chilled; iced

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• frappés
  plural

Etymology

Origin of frappe¹

see origin at frappé

Origin of frappé²

1840–50; < French: past participle of frapper to ice, strike

Explanation

If you live in New England, a frappe is a delicious, creamy, frozen drink — in other words, it's a milkshake. Order a frappe at a diner in Idaho, however, and you'll probably get a confused look. The meaning of the word frappe varies depending on what part of the world you're in. In Massachusetts or Maine, ordering a chocolate frappe will result in a milkshake: ice cream that's blended with syrup and sometimes milk which you can sip through a straw. In other areas, a frappe is a frozen coffee drink, a variation on fruity shaved ice, or even a crispy pastry. The French source is frappé, "made cold with ice."

Example Sentences

Alongside standard coffees, Costa serves a variety of frappé and fruit coolers, but these contain syrups and can be topped with whipped cream which may not appeal to the clean-living green-juice sippers among us.

From BBC • Aug. 29, 2025

Once done, your frappé should be light in hue and incredibly creamy and fluffy.

From Salon • Jul. 1, 2023

Must-orders on the menu are the Vietnamese iced coffee, the mango frappé and the taro lattes.

From Washington Post • Sep. 8, 2022

Wash it down with a coffee frappé or fresh soursop juice.

From New York Times • Mar. 12, 2020

I knew better than to invoke again that wintry Boston smile, which in a Western or Southern community would be used to frappé mint-juleps or cold-storage hogs with.

From Frenzied Finance Vol. 1: The Crime of Amalgamated by Lawson, Thomas William