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

They ate eight kinds of pasta, pies and fruit and cheese—and seven varieties of ice cream.

From Literature

The sandwiches themselves are generous in size, featuring a thick chunk of ice cream encased in two soft-baked chocolate chip cookies and coated in mini chocolate chips.

From Salon

“That’s part of the fun,” Van Hulsen says as she brings over a sterling silver ice cream scoop engraved with “There’s nothing wrong with me that ice cream can’t fix” in barely perceptible cursive.

From Los Angeles Times

After the parade ends, the street peddlers appear, selling honey-and-fig and rosewater-and-pistachio flavors of ice cream, so refreshing in the unusually warm weather.

From Literature

We’re hearing a Mexican ice cream truck and all these other things.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• frozen yogurt
• sherbet
• sorbet