ice cream

American  

noun

1. a frozen food containing cream or milk and butterfat, sugar, flavoring, and sometimes eggs.

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ice cream British  

noun

1. a kind of sweetened frozen liquid, properly made from cream and egg yolks but often made from milk or a custard base, flavoured in various ways

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Etymology

Origin of ice cream

First recorded in 1735–45

Compare meaning

How does ice-cream compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• custard vs. ice cream
• sorbet vs. ice cream
• ice milk vs. ice cream
• frozen custard vs. ice cream

Example Sentences

If the Ellevest CEO had pursued her passion, she would be making ice cream and baking.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 22, 2026

I love to eat them on their own or topped with vanilla ice cream.

From Salon • Jun. 20, 2026

Arley Harriman, a retired advertising executive living in Delavan, Wisc., said she loves Culver’s service and cleanliness, plus the quality of its cod sandwiches and custard ice cream.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 19, 2026

Eating salad, ice cream, jelly and soup are all good sources of water too.

From BBC • Jun. 19, 2026

It didn’t to Jonah—he’d always known he was adopted, and as far as he was concerned, it wasn’t much more of a deal than his liking mint chocolate-chip ice cream while Katherine liked orange sherbet.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Related Words

• frozen yogurt
• sherbet
• sorbet