- [uncountable] the thick white or pale yellow fatty liquid that rises to the top of milk, used in cooking or as a type of sauce to put on fruit, etc.
- We had strawberries and cream for dessert.
- whipped cream
- a dollop of fresh cream
- scones with cream and jam
- I asked for two coffees with cream.
- Would you like milk or cream in your coffee?
- (British English) cream cakes (= containing cream)
Extra ExamplesTopics Fooda1- She piled great dollops of cream onto her apple pie.
- This cream's gone off!
- Whisk the cream and icing sugar together.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- clotted
- thick
- whipped
- …
- dollop
- beat
- whip
- whisk
- …
- go off
- bun
- cake
- cheese
- …
- and cream
- with cream
Definitions on the go
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- [countable] (in compounds) a sweet that has a soft substance like cream inside
- a chocolate/peppermint cream
- [uncountable, countable] a soft substance or thick liquid used on your skin to protect it or make it feel soft; a similar substance used for cleaning things
- moisturizing cream
- Put a little antiseptic cream on the grazed skin.
- a topical antibiotic cream
- anti-wrinkle/anti-ageing cream
- a cream cleaner
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- face
- hand
- day
- …
- apply
- massage
- put on
- …
- [uncountable] a pale colour between yellow and white
- Do you have this blouse in cream?
- an eye-catching outfit of cream and black
- a warm yellow shade of cream
- the cream of something the best people or things in a particular group
- the cream of New York society
- the cream of the crop of this season’s movies
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French cresme, from a blend of late Latin cramum (probably of Gaulish origin) and ecclesiastical Latin chrisma, from Greek khrisma ‘anointing’, from khriein ‘anoint’.
Idioms
See cream in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionarylike a cat that’s got the cream (British English)
(US English like the cat that got/ate/swallowed the canary)
- very pleased with yourself synonym smug
- She looked like a cat that’s got the cream. She was almost purring with pleasure.
Check pronunciation:
cream