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

She wore a Mike Trout jersey, smiled broadly, and clutched a cup of ice cream.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 4, 2026

Founded in Abu Dhabi in 1976, it owns stakes in the Deutsche Bank Center, Marriott Edition hotels in New York, Miami and London, as well as the maker of Häagen-Dazs ice cream in the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

The menu included a peach ice cream bombe.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

Unilever has spun off its Ben & Jerry’s ice cream business and sold its tea brands in recent years.

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026

Like the kind he and his mom used to splurge on when they had enough money, so thick you had to suck your cheeks in hard to get the ice cream through the straw.

From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman

Related Words

• frozen yogurt
• sherbet
• sorbet