icing

1 of 2

noun (1)

ic·​ing ˈī-siŋ 

1

: a sweet flavored usually creamy mixture used to coat baked goods (such as cupcakes)

called also frosting

2

: something that adds to the interest, value, or appeal of an item or event

—often used in the phrase icing on the cake

icing

2 of 2

noun (2)

: an illegal act by an ice hockey player of shooting a puck from within the defensive zone or defensive half of the rink beyond the opponents' goal line but not into the goal

Examples of icing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The ironic icing on the cake is that Brabus had just teased the model on Instagram with a series of shadowy shots, even though thousands of people had already seen the car in full. —Caleb Jacobs, The Drive, 19 Mar. 2026

Residents in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula may see up to 3 feet of snow, severe icing and blizzard conditions as a result of a late-season winter storm that's been moving through on Sunday. —Nick Lentz, CBS News, 15 Mar. 2026

The mascarpone icing was light, but delicious. —Nellah Bailey McGough, Southern Living, 13 Mar. 2026

De-icing, by the way, was another of Katharine’s areas of investigation during World War II. —Natalia Sánchez Loayza, Scientific American, 13 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun (1)

circa 1740, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1948, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing icing

• anti-icing
• icing on the cake
• icing sugar
• royal icing

Rhymes for icing

• deicing
• dicing
• pricing
• slicing
• splicing
• enticing
• sufficing
• sacrificing
• satisficing

Kids Definition

icing

1 of 2 noun

ic·​ing ˈī-siŋ 

1

: a sweet coating for baked goods (as cakes)

called also frosting

2

: something that adds to the interest, value, or appeal of an item or event

—often used in the phrase icing on the cake

icing

2 of 2 noun

: the shooting of a hockey puck the length of the rink and beyond the opponent's goal line