gâteau
noun
a cake, especially a very light sponge cake with a rich icing or filling.
gâteau
American
[ga-toh, gah-, gah-toh]
/ gæˈtoʊ, gɑ-, gɑˈtoʊ /
noun
French Cooking.
-
gâteaux
plural
gateau
British
/ ˈɡætəʊ /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of gâteau
1835–45; < French; Old French gastel (compare Middle English wastel < Old North French ) < Frankish *wastil, perhaps akin to Old English, Old Saxon wist food, nourishment
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.
See Examples For:
She once filmed herself plating an elaborate dessert—a petit gâteau in the shape of a Christmas ornament from the Miami bakery Bachour—only to have it slip off her spatula and break.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
For dessert, the VIPs were served a sweet beehive-shaped chocolate gâteau with a vanilla bean crémeux custard.
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026
A cake reminiscent of Black Forest gâteau but with more chocolaty depth.
From New York Times ● Jul. 25, 2022
When to go: There’s no bad time to visit, though some swear that spring takes the gâteau.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 13, 2020
This is the stage where it is used for icing fruit and cake, the dish being called fruit glacé or gâteau glacé.
From Miss Parloa's New Cook Book by Maria Parloa
‘Prawned cocktail, coronation chicken, Black Forest gateau, onion soup. Done properly, they’re all delicious. Where’s all that kind of food gone?’
From Slate ● Aug. 15, 2026
Meanwhile, the Sun reports the decision of Sandi Toksvig to leave the Great British Bake Off, under the headline: "I gateau get away!"
From BBC ● Jan. 17, 2020
Dorret Conway had a nightmare in her maiden week as her Black Forest gateau was more mudslide than moreish.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2016
Or it could be seen as a profound glorying in every aspect of their existence; either way, the picture remains as delicious as any slice of chocolate gateau.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 21, 2010
“You missed the Sorting, anyway,” said Hermione, as Ron dived for a large chocolate gateau.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
Behind the fancy pastries, the colorful gâteaux and the bonbons covered in glossy chocolate that breaks with a crisp snap are the standards, sweets that have been loved for generations, some for centuries.
From New York Times ● Feb. 2, 2022
Glass display cases show off rows of colorful, picture-perfect petits gâteaux, and croissants with so many layers that they’re almost reminiscent of the rings of a tree.
From New York Times ● Jan. 11, 2022
They are by nature much sturdier and simpler than the precious gâteaux, tartes, tortes, and petits fours of the great French and Austro-Hungarian baking traditions.
From Slate ● Jul. 9, 2018
“For breakfast, many people have bread, cheese and gâteaux piments,” my driver Raju explained, as he helped select four perfectly plump morsels for 10 rupees, about 30 cents.
From New York Times ● Aug. 16, 2017
The petits gâteaux got smaller, the hours during which officers might enter restaurants for afternoon tea became painfully shorter.
From A Labrador Doctor The Autobiography of Wilfred Thomason Grenfell by Sir Wilfred Thomason Grenfell
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.
