mousse

[moos]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR mousse ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Cookery.

a sweetened dessert with whipped cream as a base, often stabilized with gelatin and chilled in a mold: chocolate mousse.
an aspic, unsweetened and containing meat, vegetables, or fish: salmon mousse.

a foamy preparation used on the hair to help hold it in place, applied usually to damp hair before grooming or styling and worked in until absorbed.

RELATED WORDS

dessert, tapioca, custard

Nearby words

Origin of mousse

1890–95; < French: moss, froth < Germanic; see moss

Can be confusedmouse mousse

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for mousse

In the bathroom she wet my hair and then puffed it out with some mousse.
Inside Gaddafi’s Harem: The Story of a Girl’s Abduction|Annick Cojean|August 29, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Lay the smoked salmon slices out, on the work surface, fill with a spoonful of the mousse and roll up to make roulades.
We Are Off to the Races!!|Lydia Brownlow|June 7, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Mousse de Foies de Volailleby Julia Child Tired of the same old chicken recipes?
What to Eat|Cookstr.com|August 5, 2009|DAILY BEAST
A few berries had also been sliced and mixed with the mousse as she put it in the glasses.
Living on a Little|Caroline French Benton

A person who could not eat Madame Bernard's 'mousse de volaille' could only be cured by a miracle.
The White Sister|F. Marion Crawford
This mousse can be flavored with a tablespoonful of kirsch, rum, or brandy instead of sherry.
The Century Cook Book|Mary Ronald
“Strawberry, mousse, and chocolate are too cloying,” Milly remarked meditatively.
Witch Winnie's Mystery, or The Old Oak Cabinet|Elizabeth W. Champney
Line the mold with an ice and fill the center with a mousse or a parfait.
Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 4|Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences

British Dictionary definitions for mousse

mousse

noun

a light creamy dessert made with eggs, cream, fruit, etc, set with gelatine

a similar dish made from fish or meat

the layer of small bubbles on the top of a glass of champagne or other sparkling wine

short for styling mousse

Word Origin for mousse

C19: from French: froth

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for mousse

mousse

1892, in cookery sense, from French mousse, from Old French mousse "froth, scum," from Late Latin mulsa "mead," from Latin mulsum "honey wine, mead," from neuter of mulsus "mixed with honey," related to mel "honey" (see Melissa). Meaning "preparation for hair" is from 1977. As a verb in this sense from 1984.