mooncake

noun

moon·​cake ˈmün-ˌkāk How to pronounce mooncake (audio)
plural mooncakes
: a small pastry filled with sweet or savory ingredients and traditionally associated with the Mid-Autumn Festival in Chinese culture and various other East and Southeast Asian cultures

Note: Because mooncakes are traditionally eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival, this festival is sometimes referred to as the Mooncake Festival.

The palm-sized symbolic form of the moon is a meticulously baked pastry, usually stuffed with sweet lotus [seed] paste and sometimes … salty egg yolk. As per tradition, mooncakes are given as a token of appreciation and a way to tighten relationships.Hannah Leung
Mooncakes are treated with particular fondness; [Kristina] Cho's recipes for these holiday favorites span a range of styles and flavors (including Cho's inventive "ice cream sandwich" mooncakes).Kelsy Peterson
"… If you miss the pork mooncake you have made a huge mistake, they are … flakey, sweet, salty, and perfect. …"Tali Petschek

Examples of mooncake in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Yunnan mooncakes are filled with ham and honey, and Suzhou mooncakes are stuffed with ground pork and shrimp. Michelle Tchea, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Sep. 2024 The baby mooncakes themselves can rack up several hundred calories. Zareen Syed, Chicago Tribune, 11 Sep. 2024 The result: mooncakes that actually look like the moon. Ingu Chen, Vogue, 17 Sep. 2024 Plus, the mob scene at Silver Lake’s newest wine bar, plans for Nordic cuisine in L.A., the best mooncakes for this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival. Laurie Ochoa, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for mooncake 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mooncake.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

translation of Chinese (Beijing) yuèbing, yuèbǐng

First Known Use

1688, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of mooncake was in 1688

Dictionary Entries Near mooncake

Cite this Entry

“Mooncake.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mooncake. Accessed 6 Oct. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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