cinnamon roll

noun

plural cinnamon rolls

: a spiral-shaped roll of sweet bread typically with a cinnamon and sugar filling and often glazed with icing, caramel, or melted brown sugar and butter and sometimes topped with nuts

The scent of sweet cinnamon rolls swirls from the oven …

—Chris Day

The first modern cinnamon rolls … became popular in Europe, eventually migrating to the United States, where the recipe underwent a few changes. Early American versions of the roll incorporated extra ingredients such as raisins, and Americans were the ones who came up with dolloping a giant layer of icing on top.

—Isaac McGill

… a fluffy cinnamon roll covered in caramel … and plenty of pecans.

—Nathan Hutsenpiller

called also cinnamon bun

Examples of cinnamon roll in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Immediately before baking, drizzle the milk over the cinnamon rolls. — Candy Hom, AJC.com, 27 Sep. 2026

Orange-Honey Sweet Rolls Sweetened with honey and zesty with orange, these hearty rolls make a great alternative to the traditional breakfast cinnamon roll. — Ginger Crichton, Midwest Living, 16 Sep. 2026

The chain’s Breakfast Burger is the stuff of legend, as are the WhataChick’n Strips & Pancakes, cinnamon roll, and Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit. — Melissa Locker, Southern Living, 16 Sep. 2026

At each destination, Eliza kept doing her cinnamon roll dance, bobbing her head and rocking with joy. — Sean Carlson, Travel + Leisure, 15 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1872, in the meaning defined above