cream puff

noun

Updated on: 8 Apr 2018

Definition of cream puff

1 : a round shell of light pastry filled with whipped cream or a cream filling

2 : an ineffectual person

3 : something trifling, inconsiderable, or easily dealt with

4 : a usually used motor vehicle that is in especially good condition

See cream puff defined for English-language learners

See cream puff defined for kids

Examples of cream puff in a Sentence

We'll never win with a bunch of cream puffs on our team!
everyone thinks tonight's game will be a cream puff, and so it hasn't generated a lot of interest

Recent Examples of cream puff from the Web

The batter for the pastry, a mix of butter, water and flour cooked on the stovetop and then enriched with eggs, is, essentially, choux — the same thick paste used to make cream puffs or their savory counterpart, gougeres.

— domenica marchetti, chicagotribune.com, "How to make fried Sicilian St. Joseph's Day treat called sfince," 16 Mar. 2018
Or, to put it another way: fried cream puffs stuffed with sweetened ricotta cream and decorated with crushed pistachios and candied fruit.

— domenica marchetti, chicagotribune.com, "How to make fried Sicilian St. Joseph's Day treat called sfince," 16 Mar. 2018
The three-course meal aptly concludes with Olaf’s Summer Dream Vacation dessert: A pair of cream puffs filled with vanilla custard, cracked meringue, a chocolate flurry, and Olaf’s face in white chocolate.

— Sunset, "5 Ways to Get Your Frozen Fix at Disneyland Resort," 22 Jan. 2018
She was quickly nicknamed Mini Martha and given a food column on the store’s blog, spotlighting her tarts, cakes and cream puffs.

— rachel felder, New York Times, "A Clothing Line Based on Her Great-Grandmother’s Aprons," 30 Jan. 2018
Dinner options include Dungeness crab bisque, smoked salmon toast, filet of beef, and desserts like passion-fruit mascarpone cheese tart and a chocolate cream puff.

— carolina gusman, sandiegouniontribune.com, "66 restaurants to help you welcome 2018 in San Diego," 20 Dec. 2017
His religieuses, a classic French double-decker cream puff, are one of my favorites.

— priya krishna, GQ, "The Best Pastries in Paris, According to Cronut King Dominique Ansel," 24 Oct. 2017
That’s when Ohio State went on the road to play fellow powerhouse Oklahoma rather than pulverize an early season cream puff.

— laine higgins, WSJ, "Want to Make the College Football Playoff? Lay Off the Cream Puffs," 29 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cream puff.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of cream puff

1880

CREAM PUFF Defined for English Language Learners

cream puff

noun

Definition of cream puff for English Language Learners

: a type of light pastry that is filled with whipped cream or a sweetened cream filling and often topped with chocolate
: a weak person : a person who can be easily controlled or defeated
: a used car that is in very good condition