Skip navigation.

cake - What does it mean?

Definition of 'cake'

English

(wikipedia) (commons)

Etymology 1

From (etyl) cake, from (etyl) , (l), and (l).

Noun

  • A rich, sweet dessert food, typically made of flour, sugar and eggs and baked in an oven, and often covered in icing.
  • A small mass of baked dough, especially a thin loaf from unleavened dough.
    • an oatmeal cake
    a johnnycake
  • A thin wafer-shaped mass of fried batter; a griddlecake or pancake.
    • buckwheat cakes
  • A block of any of various dense materials.
    • a cake of soap
    a cake of sand
  • * Dryden
    • Cakes of rusting ice come rolling down the flood.
  • (slang) A trivially easy task or responsibility; from a piece of cake .
  • (slang) Money.
    • Usage notes
    * In British usage, a (term) is distinct from a (term); the former is generally hard but becomes soft when stale, whereas the latter is generally soft but becomes hard when stale.
    Derived terms
    * a piece of cake * ague-cake * angel cake * angel food cake * ash-cake * ashcake * baked in the cake * Banbury cake * barm cake * Battenburg cake * batter-cake * battercake * beefcake * birthday cake * bridecake * bundt cake * cake bar * cake-bread * cake-eater * cake-fumbler * cakehole * cake-house * cakelet * cake-meal * cake mix * cake saffron * cake slice * cake tin * cake-urchin * cakes and ale * cakes and cheese * cakewalk * cakewalker * caking * caky * carcake * carrot cake * cattle-cake * cheesecake * cherry cake (rel-mid3) * chocolate cake * chocolate fudge cake * chocolate sponge cake * Christmas cake * coffee cake * coffeecake * corn-cake * cotton-cake * cream cake * cupcake * devil's food cake * Dundee cake * Eccles cake * every cake has its fellow * every cake has its make * every cake has its mate * fairy cake * fish cake * fishcake * flannel cake * friedcake * fruitcake * fudge cake * go like hot cakes * griddle-cake * have one's cake and eat it too * haver-cake * heart-cake * hoecake * Johnny cake * johnny cake * journey-cake * king cake * knead-cake * Land of Cakes * lardy cake * layer cake * linseed cake * Madeira cake * marble cake * nutcake * oatcake * oilcake (rel-mid3) * one's cake is dough * Pan-Cake * pancake * parliament-cake * pat-a-cake * patty-cake * plum-cake * pomfret-cake * Pontefract cake * pound cake * queencake * rape-cake * rice cake * rock cake * rose-cake * rout-cake * saffron cake * salt-cake * seed-cake * seedcake * sell like hot cakes * Shawnee cake * sheet cake * shortcake * simnel cake * singing cake * soul-cake * spice-cake * sponge cake * take the cake * teacake * tharf-cake * the cake is a lie * the icing on the cake * the national cake * tipsy cake * Twelfth-cake * Twelfth-night cake * upside-down cake * Victorian sponge cake * wedding cake * yellowcake (rel-bottom)
    Synonyms
    * (dessert) * (block) block * (easy task) see piece of cake
    Descendants
    * Dutch: (l), (l) (also (l), older also (l), (l)) * Faroese: (l) * German: (l) ** Serbo-Croatian: * Icelandic: (l) * Nauruan: (l) * Japanese: * Norwegian: (l) * Swedish: (l)
    See also
    (attention) * biscuit * * brownie * bun * cruller * crumpet * dessert * donut * doughnut * * flapjack * frangipane * * gugelhupf (rel-mid3) * jumbal * koeksister * kruller * kuchen * kugelhopf * kugelhupf * ladyfinger * lamington * Linzertorte * madeleine * muffin * parkin * pastry * patisserie (rel-mid3) * petit four * pie * pikelet * pudding * rum baba * Sally Lunn * scone * sponge * Swiss roll * tart * torte * Victoria sponge * yumyum (rel-bottom)

    Verb

  • Coat (something) with a crust of solid material.
    • His shoes are caked with mud.
  • To form into a cake, or mass.
    • Synonyms
    * (coat with a crust of material) crust, encrust

    Etymology 2

    Verb

  • (UK|dialect|obsolete|intransitive) To cackle like a goose.
    • (Webster 1913)

    Anagrams

    * 1000 English basic words ----

    Similar to 'cake'

    case, chose, cause, coke, cage, cease, chase, cache, choke, cogue, coxae, chuse, cozie, cuke, cooze, chace, cize, cosie