soft serve

American

[sawft surv, soft] / ˈsɔft ˌsɜrv, ˈsɒft /

noun

a smooth-textured, soft ice cream that is aerated in a machine to reduce its density and pumped into a cone or cup rather than scooped like traditional hard-packed ice cream.

First recorded in 1950–55

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

soft serve

What do Ukrainian food, soft serve and Thai fusion tacos have in common?

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

The 31-year-old Mexican tourist walked out with a cone of vanilla and chocolate swirl soft serve.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

Don’t forget to finish with soft serve from the ice cream stand.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2025

Most of the time I also get the vanilla soft serve with strawberry sauce.

From Slate ● Dec. 28, 2024

Cover again and when the crackers are soft, serve in soup plates.

From Home Pork Making by Fulton, A. W.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023