meringue

¹ American  

[muh-rang] / məˈræŋ /

noun

1. a delicate, frothy mixture made with beaten egg whites and sugar or hot syrup, and browned, used as a topping for pies, pastry, etc.

2. a pastry or pastry shell made by baking such a mixture, sometimes filled with fruit, whipped cream, etc.

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méringue ² American  

[mey-rang] / meɪˈræŋ /

noun

méringued, méringuing

1. merengue.

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meringue British  

/ məˈræŋ /

noun

1. stiffly beaten egg whites mixed with sugar and baked, often as a topping for pies, cakes, etc

2. a small cake or shell of this mixture, often filled with cream

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Other Word Forms

• unmeringued adjective

Etymology

Origin of meringue¹

1700–10; < French méringue; perhaps to be identified with dial. (Walloon) maringue shepherd's loaf, marinde food for an outdoor repast (< Latin merenda light afternoon meal, probably feminine gerund of merere to merit, such a meal being part of a laborer's wages), though certain evidence is lacking; association with the town of Meiringen (Bern canton, Switzerland) is solely by folk etymology

Origin of méringue²

< French < Haitian Creole

Example Sentences

At home, however, poaching islands of meringue has always felt like too much messy work.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

At Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr’s reborn French restaurant in New York, instead of poaching the meringue they bake it before service in a low-temp oven for a miraculously brisk seven minutes.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

And I hope I don’t trigger you when I say this: making meringue is not hard.

From Salon • Jul. 9, 2025

Pointing to another that looks like a black and orange meringue with gold dusting, he explains: "This is a real mystery - we don't even know what it is made of."

From BBC • Apr. 20, 2025

It was like someone handing him a lemon meringue pie and telling him not to throw it.

From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan