gâteau
noun
a cake, especially a very light sponge cake with a rich icing or filling.
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gâteau
American
[ga-toh, gah-, gah-toh]
/ gæˈtoʊ, gɑ-, gɑˈtoʊ /
noun
French Cooking.
plural
gâteaux
gateau
British
/ ˈɡætəʊ /
noun
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.
For dessert, the VIPs were served a sweet beehive-shaped chocolate gâteau with a vanilla bean crémeux custard.
From BBC • Apr. 28, 2026
Her most popular items include wondrously fluffy souffle cheesecake, minimally sweet strawberry cake and a tender single-layer matcha gâteau.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 25, 2023
The original recipe is called “Le gâteau au chocolat fondant de Nathalie” on Page 14, and a photo on Page 15 shows a rather plain, if dense, chocolate cake with a slice taken out.
From Washington Post • Feb. 4, 2023
Also, gâteau de crêpes, which is an insanely challenging dish.
From Salon • Mar. 29, 2022
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 Parloa, Maria
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.
