noun
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a rich cake containing mixed dried fruit, lemon peel, nuts, etc
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slang a person considered to be eccentric or insane
Etymology
Origin of fruitcake
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.
His favourite treat, however, is the Simnel cake, a traditional fruitcake typically made with a layer of either marzipan or almond paste and associated with Lent.
From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026
A quip attributed to former "Tonight Show" host Johnny Carson has it that "There is only one fruitcake in the entire world, and people keep sending it to each other."
From Salon • Dec. 17, 2024
What you might recognize as a modern-style fruitcake – a moist, leavened dessert studded with fruits and nuts – was probably first baked in the early Middle Ages in Europe.
From Salon • Dec. 17, 2024
Haters and disrespect aside, fruitcake is still a robust American tradition: The website Serious Eats reports that over 2 million fruitcakes are still sold each year.
From Salon • Dec. 17, 2024
“What, I didn’t tell you to go outside?” her mother growled, setting two cups of coffee and half a fruitcake on the kitchen table where the men were seated.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
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.
