muffin
Americannoun
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an individual cup-shaped quick bread made with wheat flour, cornmeal, or the like, and baked in a pan muffin pan containing a series of cuplike forms.
noun
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a thick round baked yeast roll, usually toasted and served with butter
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a small cup-shaped sweet bread roll, usually eaten hot with butter
Etymology
Origin of muffin
First recorded in 1695–1705; origin uncertain
Explanation
A muffin is a small baked good made from batter. Don't kid yourself: the only real difference between a slice of cake and a muffin is the shape. Muffins are single-serving quick breads, which rise with the help of baking soda or baking powder and eggs instead of yeast. They tend to be sweet and somewhat moist, but heavier than a cake or cupcake. Muffins are baked in a pan with cup-sized indentations. The word was originally moofin, which may come from the Low German muffe, "small cake," or the Old French moflet, "soft or tender."
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.
Eating eggs and avocado on an English muffin, I see that someone I follow has shared a Substack note from neuroscientist Manuela Kouakou:
From Slate • May 10, 2026
This time in England when Molly ate a muffin containing milk.
From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026
Historically, it was basically a couple of flavors of muffin tops.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 1, 2026
Finally, a muffin that feels like a quiet triumph of patience, experimentation, and a little alchemy.
From Salon • Dec. 18, 2025
Emily picked up the blueberry muffin from the floor.
From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
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.
