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• souffle
  souffle

  noun

  a murmuring or blowing sound heard on auscultation.
• soufflé
  soufflé

  noun

  a light baked dish made fluffy with beaten egg whites combined with egg yolks, white sauce, and fish, cheese, or other ingredients.

souffle

¹ American  

[soo-fuhl] / ˈsu fəl /

noun

Pathology.

1. a murmuring or blowing sound heard on auscultation.

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soufflé ² American  

[soo-fley, soo-fley] / suˈfleɪ, ˈsu fleɪ /

noun

• soufflés
  plural

1. a light baked dish made fluffy with beaten egg whites combined with egg yolks, white sauce, and fish, cheese, or other ingredients.

2. a similar dish made with fruit juices, chocolate, vanilla, etc., and served as dessert.

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adjective

1. Also souffléed puffed up; made light, as by beating and cooking.

verb (used with object)

souffléed, souffléing

1. to make (food) puffed up and light, as by beating and cooking, adding stiffly beaten egg whites, etc.; make resemble a soufflé.

   to soufflé leftover mashed potatoes.

soufflé ¹ British  

/ ˈsuːfleɪ /

noun

1. a very light fluffy dish made with egg yolks and stiffly beaten egg whites combined with cheese, fish, etc

2. a similar sweet or savoury cold dish, set with gelatine

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adjective

1. made light and puffy, as by beating and cooking

souffle ² British  

/ ˈsuːfəl /

noun

1. med a blowing sound or murmur heard in auscultation

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• soufflés
  plural

Etymology

Origin of souffle¹

From French, dating back to 1875–80; see origin at soufflé

Origin of soufflé²

1805–15; < French, noun use of past participle of souffler to blow, puff < Latin sufflāre to breathe on, blow on

Explanation

A souffle is an egg dish that puffs up when you bake it. You might make a fluffy goat cheese souffle to serve your friends at brunch. A souffle is similar to an omelet, although it is much lighter and airier, due to beaten egg whites that are folded into the other ingredients. The trick with a souffle is generally keeping it fluffy and not allowing it to fall. You can make a savory souffle or a sweet one, like a chocolate souffle for dessert. The word is French, from souffler, "puff up."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

souffle soufflé soufflés

My aunt made a dessert that was supposed to be an orange souffle.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 30, 2025

Ultimately, celebrity chefs can teach us a lot more than just how to cook a souffle or chop an onion without crying.

From Salon ● Nov. 10, 2024

Teaching, like parenting or skiing or governing or making a souffle, is an activity you can learn about from books and classes and movies, but only really understand on the job.

From New York Times ● Dec. 24, 2023

Her most popular items include wondrously fluffy souffle cheesecake, minimally sweet strawberry cake and a tender single-layer matcha gâteau.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 25, 2023

In seconds the tortilla dried and puffed up like a souffle.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

The result is something between an aromatic fritter and a funky soufflé.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

In Irvine, eggs go in just about every dish at Burnt Crumbs, from bestselling Japanese-style soufflé pancakes to the breakfast fried rice, said chef-owner Paul Cao.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 11, 2025

You finally made it to Paris, but instead of running up the Eiffel Tower, you’re passing out in your soufflé.

From New York Times ● Aug. 4, 2023

It was a chocolate soufflé made with an ostrich egg.

From Seattle Times ● May 23, 2023

Mrs. Elling had brought her chicken-and-potato-chip casserole again, and Kittie Margolis had brought her famous sweet potato-pineapple-grits soufflé in the shape of a dog’s head.

From Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles

From cakes and pies, “Ready for Dessert” moves on to custards and soufflés; frozen desserts; cookies and candies; and basics, such as sauces, creams, etc.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025

"A lot of chefs will use them in pasta toppings, make sauces. We have one chef who takes damaged truffles and use them for soufflés," she added.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2025

Take these Twice-Baked Soufflés, for example: The recipe makes six soufflés.

From Salon ● Apr. 22, 2023

While soufflés are delicate and sensitive creations, they’re also fundamentally simple, consisting of a flavored base that’s lightened with beaten egg whites.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 24, 2022

A hundred different kinds of soufflés can be easily made by following the above directions.

From Hand-Book of Practical Cookery for Ladies and Professional Cooks by Pierre Blot