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Synonyms

icing on the cake

Idioms  

  1. Also, frosting on the cake. An additional benefit to something already good. For example, All these letters of congratulation are icing on the cake, or After that beautiful sunrise, the rainbow is just frosting on the cake. This metaphoric expression alludes to the sweet creamy coating used to enhance a cake. [Mid-1900s]

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.

It also brought his MLB-leading batting average to .449 — and wasn’t just icing on the cake but fortification against the Rangers’ hitters who wouldn’t quit.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2026

"This is just a massive bonus to a good package that we already had, this is the icing on the cake," Weston told BBC Sport in 2025.

From BBC • Feb. 14, 2026

"This is just a massive bonus to a good package that we already had, this is the icing on the cake," said Weston.

From BBC • Feb. 11, 2026

Avril said her highlight was meeting Jimmy Good and the "icing on the cake" was seeing the string bands decked out in the "most fantastic clothes".

From BBC • Jan. 17, 2026

Mae dipped a finger into the icing on the cake and popped it into her mouth.

From "Willodeen" by Katherine Applegate

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.