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

The desserts are equally as intriguing, like a kombu ice cream with sweet salsa macha and a flan-like jericalla custard with mole ganache and cardamom buñuelos. —Kate Kassin, Bon Appetit Magazine, 26 Mar. 2026

Let the delicate custard shine. —Georgeanne Brennan, Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2026

Before any steps could even be Strava-ed, the first in line for pastries grabbed a vegan strawberry croissant filled with vanilla custard in one hand and a za’atar jalapeno olive roll in the other. —Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2026

Shake Shack created a new Home Run Apple Pie Shake with the signature vanilla frozen custard, apple pie filling, topped with blue and orange sprinkles. —Kelly McCarthy, ABC News, 23 Mar. 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