madeleine
noun
a small shell-shaped cake made of flour, eggs, sugar, and butter and baked in a mold.
madeleine
1 American
[mad-l-in, mad-l-eyn, ma duh-len]
/ ˈmæd l ɪn, ˌmæd lˈeɪn, madəˈlɛn /
noun
French Cooking.
-
madeleines
plural
-
a small shell-shaped cake made of flour, eggs, sugar, and butter and baked in a mold.
-
something that triggers memories or nostalgia: in allusion to a nostalgic passage in Proust's Remembrance of Things Past.
Madeleine
2
American
[mad-l-in, -lahyn, ma duh-len]
/ ˈmæd l ɪn, -ˌlaɪn, madəˈlɛn /
Also
Madelaine,
noun
madeleine
British
/ ˈmædəlɪn, -ˌleɪn /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of madeleine
1835–45; < French, earlier gâteau à la Madeleine, after the female given name; the attribution of the recipe to an 18th-century cook named Madeleine Pau(l)mier is unsubstantiated
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.
See Examples For:
The taste of a madeleine famously sent French writer Marcel Proust back into vivid memories of childhood.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
For him, pinball games unlock memories, much as the madeleine did for Proust.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026
They are also kind of the perfect mix between a macaroon and a madeleine.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 3, 2023
In “August Blue,” horses are even more resonant; they act on Elsa much like Proust’s madeleine.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2023
“Wanderlust!” he exclaimed passionately, and then grabbed a petite madeleine as his reward.
From "The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book I: The Mysterious Howling" by Maryrose Wood
Sean McCann - the younger brother of Madeleine McCann - will swim for Scotland at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on Saturday.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
“The Nolans project is a major step forward for Australia’s rare earths industry,” said Australia’s Resources Minister Madeleine King.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026
“There’s a lot of work to be done on how we do collaborate and work together to develop this industry,” Madeleine King, Australia’s mining minister, said Feb. 4.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 9, 2026
Back in 1998, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright described the U.S. as the “indispensable nation”—exceptional not because it dominated others, but because it showed up, carried burdens, and anchored the system others relied on.
From Barron's ● Jan. 21, 2026
That was how Joseph heard for the first time that Madeleine, whom he loved, was gone.
From "Orbiting Jupiter" by Gary D. Schmidt
For dessert, Proust's beloved madeleines and mirabelles jostled for attention with distinctly American-accented glazed doughnuts.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
Why deal with that when the fruit-filled madeleines at Le Comptoir, the shop at the Ritz hotel, and berry-jeweled tartelettes at Tapisserie, from the Septime gang, offer excellence without the drama?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 14, 2026
On Jan. 21, lucky diners can get their hands on red envelopes stuffed with everything from a new year wish to gift cards for $25, madeleines or soft serve ice cream.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 18, 2023
But such is the curious performer-audience dynamic of jukebox biomusicals, whose playlists so instantly unlock remembrance that they might as well be madeleines.
From New York Times ● Nov. 30, 2022
It chattered excitedly as Cassiopeia fed it petites madeleines out of her reticule.
From "The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book I: The Mysterious Howling" by Maryrose Wood
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.
