fruitcake

noun

fruit·​cake ˈfrüt-ˌkāk 

plural fruitcakes

1

: a rich cake containing nuts, dried or candied fruits, spices, and usually alcohol (such as rum or brandy)

2

: a foolish or eccentric person

The roommate once thought of as a fruitcake is the candidate likeliest to be our next Secretary of State.

—Erich Segal

also, sometimes offensive : someone who is not mentally sound

"… The guy on the tape's a fruitcake. And he has a rifle. You are not safe here."

—Pat Conroy

Synonyms of fruitcake

• eccentric
• character
• nut
• crackpot
• wacko
• nutter
• nutcase
• weirdo
• flake
• loony
• kook
• original
• screwball
• crank
• piece of work
• codger
• oddball
• loon

Examples of fruitcake in a Sentence

children in the neighborhood once regarded the reclusive scientist as a fruitcake

he agreed to an evaluation so they could see he wasn't a fruitcake

Recent Examples on the Web

Today, more than 2 million fruitcakes are sold in the United States each year, with 20,000 a day coming from one small town in Texas. —Juliette Arcodia, NBC news, 24 Dec. 2025

How To Order Jane’s Famous Fruitcake The one-pound fruitcake loaves can be ordered online and ship nationwide. —Anne Byrn, Southern Living, 21 Dec. 2025

Baked goods Baked goods like cakes, cookies, pies, fruitcake, brownies and other items are permitted through security checkpoint. —Michelle Del Rey, USA Today, 15 Dec. 2025

Baked goods will include 16 varieties of holiday cookies, stollen, fruitcakes, caramel corn and take-and-bake pecan rolls. —Elaine Rewolinski, jsonline.com, 28 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1687, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for fruitcake

• awake
• backache
• beefsteak
• betake
• cheesecake
• cupcake
• daybreak
• earthquake
• eastlake
• forsake
• handshake
• headache

Kids Definition

fruitcake

noun

fruit·​cake ˈfrüt-ˌkāk 

: a rich cake containing nuts, dried or candied fruits, and spices