custard

noun

cus·​tard ˈkə-stərd 

plural custards

: a cooked mixture made of eggs and milk or cream and usually having a thick, creamy consistency

By the eighteenth century it had become the dessert we know today: a layered treat of sponge cake, custard, fruit, jam, whipped cream and spirits.

—Bon Appétit

We toss a laurel wreath to the chefs for their … pastitsio and moussaka, both of which sported a savory custard topping.

—Greg Morago et al.

Smooth and creamy, custard lends itself to a range of both sweet and savory dishes.

—Gabrielle Shaughness

custardy

ˈkə-stər-dē 

adjective

Examples of custard in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Left on the kitchen counter were cut up limes and rhubarb custard pie. —Caroline Cummings, CBS News, 14 June 2026

My mom is well known around these parts for her special custard-style baked mac-and-cheese, an adaptation of a recipe from the iconic Fannie Flagg’s Original Whistle Stop Cafe Cookbook (basically a small-town Southern lady’s culinary bible). —Skye Sherman, Southern Living, 14 June 2026

In 2009-10, Newcastle’s away strip was banana yellow, or mustard and custard, or bananas and cream. —George Caulkin, New York Times, 11 June 2026

The resulting pastry, exemplified by rum-and-vanilla scented versions sold at Bordeaux pastry shop Baillardran, has a custard-like texture and mahogany exterior. —Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 10 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, a kind of pie, alteration of crustarde, crustade, probably from Anglo-French *crustade, from cruste crust, from Latin crusta — more at crust

First Known Use

circa 1616, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing custard

• custard apple

Rhymes for custard

• blustered
• bustard
• clustered
• flustered
• mustard
• mustered

Kids Definition

custard

noun

cus·​tard ˈkəs-tərd 

: a sweetened mixture of milk and eggs baked, boiled, or frozen