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-ayn, 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
As Van Gogh had his sunflowers and Proust his madeleine, so Neil Diamond had a bottle of cheap Canadian booze.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 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
She pops a raspberry cream puff in her mouth, chewing quickly, then takes three madeleine cookies.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
"There's a lot of evidence about Shell knowing as early as in the 1960s" that fossil fuels contributed to global warming, said Madeleine Lynch, a campaigner on the "Odette case."
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
One was former Amnesty International and UN researcher Madeleine Penman, who investigated disappearances in Tamaulipas between 2015 and 2019.
From Barron's ● May 14, 2026
That is lower than previously projected as the ONS now treats the post Brexit immigration peak as a "blip" rather than an ongoing trend, said Dr Madeleine Sumption, of Oxford University's Migration Observatory.
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 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
And when we carried bales of hay to Quintus Sertorius, Joseph talked about Madeleine.
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
A French grandmother hops aboard to teach passengers how to make apple-packed tarte Tatin and madeleines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 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
Maybe I’ll taste more Proustian madeleines, and maybe I’ll cry more.
From New York Times ● Dec. 30, 2021
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
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