cream

KREEM/kɹiːm/

Pluralcreams (some meanings)

Verbcreams, creaming, creamed

18 meanings of cream

Practice

1
fat from milknoununcountable
The thick, fat-rich part of milk that rises to the top or is separated off for use in food and drinks; also, a single serving of it, as for coffee or tea.
She poured a little cream into her coffee and stirred until it turned a light tan.
Serve the warm pie with a spoonful of whipped cream.
UsageAs food, usually no a: a little cream, some cream. Common kinds include whipped cream and sour cream.
2
whipped toppingnouncolloquialuncountable
A soft substance like frosting, custard, or creamer that resembles the oily part of milk or whipped cream.
He squirted cream into the center of each pastry.
Her fruit tart starts with a layer of vanilla pastry cream under the strawberries.
UsageCommon in cream filling and pastry cream. Packaging often spells it creme.
Similarfilling
Note
Everyday speech stretches the word to almost anything soft, pale and sweet, whatever it is made of. Joey Green's Incredible Country Store (2004) notes that the cream filling in Oreo cookies was originally made with pork lard. Casual use and the label part ways here. The dairy sense, which food labeling rules protect, is probably why the packaging itself says creme.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts
Joey Green wrote Joey Green's Incredible Country Store. en.wikipedia.org
The book states that Oreo filling originally contained pork lard. en.wiktionary.org
Oreos historically contained pork lard. news.cornell.edu
Food regulations define cream as a dairy product with a minimum milkfat content. govinfo.gov
Oreo packaging uses the spelling creme. mondelezinternational.com
3
rub on skinnouncountable or uncountable
A thick, smooth emulsion of oil and water rubbed into the skin, either to deliver a medicine or for moisturizing, cosmetic, or grooming use.
The pharmacist recommended a hydrocortisone cream for the inflamed skin.
He applied an antifungal cream to the affected area each night.
UsageYou apply, put on or rub in a cream, often a cream for a problem: a cream for the rash.
Similarointment, lotion, salve, balm
Note
Pharmacy separates a cream from an ointment, and water content is one difference. A medicinal cream is a semisolid emulsion of oil or fat and water that carries a drug onto the skin. On a label, the word therefore names a kind of preparation, not merely a texture. Goldsmith's "paste and creams" of 1765 shows the cosmetic use running alongside the medical one.
4
of that coloradjective
Of a pale yellowish-white color, resembling dairy cream.
He chose a cream linen suit for the summer wedding.
The old farmhouse had cream shutters and a bright red front door.
Similarivory, off-white, ecru
5
the color itselfnouncountable or uncountable
A yellowish-white color resembling that of dairy cream.
The invitation was printed on heavy card in a warm cream.
They chose cream for the nursery walls, softer than stark white.
Similarivory, off-white, ecru
6
beat butterverbtransitive
To beat or stir butter or another solid fat, often with sugar, into a soft, light, creamy texture.
First cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
The recipe says to cream the shortening thoroughly before folding in the flour.
UsageUsually cream the butter and sugar, beating until pale and fluffy.
Similarbeat, whip
Note
A baker's step, and a precise one. The aim is to work air into the fat, which is why the mixture turns pale and fluffy and why the step shapes the final crumb.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
Creaming incorporates air into the fat. k-state.edu
Properly creamed butter and sugar become pale and fluffy. landolakes.com
The air incorporated during creaming affects the final crumb. kingarthurbaking.com
7
the finestnounfigurativelycountable or uncountable
The finest or most excellent part of something.
The academy admits only the cream of each year's applicants.
This festival showcases the cream of independent cinema.
UsageUsually the cream of something, as in the set phrase the cream of the crop.
Similarpick, best, elite, flower
Oppositedregs
Note
Thomas Shelton's Don Quixote, Part II (1620), hails the "flower and cream of Knights-errant". Katherine Mansfield's "Bliss" (1918) has "the cream of it was" for the best bit of a story about to be told.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
Shelton's translation contains the words "flower and cream of Knights-errant". en.wiktionary.org
Katherine Mansfield wrote "Bliss", first published in 1918. en.wikipedia.org
"Bliss" contains "the cream of it was", introducing the best part of an anecdote. gutenberg.net.au
8
smooth soupnouncountable
A smooth, thick soup or similar dish made with cream or milk, such as cream of mushroom or cream of tomato.
The diner serves a different cream of vegetable every afternoon.
He ladled a steaming bowl of cream of celery for each guest.
UsageNamed as cream of plus the main ingredient: cream of mushroom, cream of tomato.

Less common meanings

9
defeat badlyverbslangtransitive
To defeat someone decisively; to crush an opponent completely.
The champions creamed every challenger they faced this season.
The league leaders will cream us on Saturday if our defense doesn't show up.
UsageStronger than beat: we creamed them by forty points.
Similarthrash, trounce, crush, rout, hammer
10
blend smoothverbtransitive
To blend ingredients into a smooth, liquid mixture by pureeing.
Cream the cooked vegetables before stirring them back into the broth.
The chef creamed the roasted squash into a velvety base for the sauce.
Similarblend, liquidize
11
remove the bestverbfigurativelytransitive
To remove the best or choicest portion of something, leaving the rest behind.
Critics say the new magnet school will cream off the strongest students from nearby schools.
The new owners creamed off the most profitable stores and closed the rest within a year.
UsageUsually cream off the best: rich clubs cream off the top young players.
Similarskim, poach
Note
The figurative offshoot of skimming milk: whatever rises to the top is taken, and the rest is left behind. The noun phrase the cream of simply praises the best. The verb adds a taker who is selective, often at the expense of what remains, as when schools cream the strongest applicants.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
The figurative image derives from extracting cream from milk. en.wikipedia.org
Cream rises to the top of milk and is skimmed off. en.wikipedia.org
12
semennounslangvulgaruncountable
Semen, the fluid that is ejaculated.
When he did come, he spurted his cream all over the front of Rosalee’s T-shirt and neck.
2004, Art Wiederhold, Wild Flowers
He tucked his cock into his pants before rubbing his cream into her breasts in slow, teasing strokes.
2003, Dominique Adair, “Two Days, Three Nights”
13
add to foodverbtransitive
To furnish or top something with cream, or with something resembling cream.
For the holiday dinner, she creamed the pearl onions in a rich white sauce.
Grandma likes to cream the fresh garden peas with butter and a splash of milk.
UsageCreamed before a vegetable usually means cooked in a creamy sauce: creamed onions, creamed peas.
Similartop
Note
The verb of the coffee tray: you cream these two coffees and leave the others black. Adeline Dutton Train Whitney's Real Folks (1871) has someone "creaming the fragrant cups".
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Adeline Dutton Train Whitney wrote Real Folks. gutenberg.org
Real Folks contains the words “creaming the fragrant cups,” describing someone adding cream to drinks. gutenberg.org
14
climaxverbslangvulgarintransitive
(vulgar slang) To ejaculate, sometimes into one's clothing.
He tries hard not to cream too soon when he is excited.
The first trailer had longtime fans ready to cream their jeans, months before the release date was announced.
Similarcome
Note
This is vulgar sexual slang, and it is notable for applying to anyone, not only to men. Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey's Grease (1971) gives Kenickie a boast that women will react this way to Greased Lightnin'.
15
form on topverbintransitive
Of milk, to gather or form a layer of cream on the surface.
Raw milk left to stand will cream within a few hours.
Left overnight in the cool cellar, the fresh milk creamed, and a thick yellow layer rose to the top.
Note
Milk is the subject here, not the cook. Milk creams as it stands, and only then can anyone skim the cream off.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
Milk left standing develops a surface layer of cream that can then be skimmed off. gutenberg.org
16
nounobsoleteuncountable
The consecrated oil, or chrism, used in religious anointing ceremonies.
there shall never harlot have happe, by the helpe of Oure Lord, to kylle a crowned Kynge that with Creyme is anoynted.
Note
Here the ointment side of the word's ancestry shows through, the chrisma behind the dairy sense. In this obsolete use the word meant consecrated oil: an old account of kingship speaks of "a crowned Kynge that with Creyme is anoynted". Modern English says chrism for this, and a reader today would take cream as the dairy word.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
The ancestry of cream includes chrisma, meaning ointment. en.wiktionary.org
Cream formerly meant chrism or consecrated oil used for anointing. en.wiktionary.org
The quoted wording occurs in an old literary account concerning kingship, identified by the source as Malory's Le Morte Darthur, Book V. en.wiktionary.org
17
verbdated
To skim off the layer of cream that rises to the top of milk.
18
verbrare
To give something a yellowish-white color, like that of cream.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of cream apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

Middle English creime came from Old French creme, which blended two Late Latin words. One was chrisma, meaning "ointment," which came from Ancient Greek khrîsma ("unguent"). The other was crāmum, meaning "cream." Crāmum probably came from Gaulish *crama and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots connected with skin or surface. The figurative meaning "the most excellent part" is recorded from 1581. The U.S. slang verb meaning "to beat or wreck" dates from 1929.