What does "cream" mean?
The butterfat or milkfat part of milk which rises to the top; this part when separated from the remainder.
Cream
/kɹiːm/ adj, noun, verb, slang
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The butterfat or milkfat part of milk which rises to the top; this part when separated from the remainder.
- Grammar: cream is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: abstergent, aerate, alabaster, alabastrine.
- Useful contrasts: fine powder use, parisian powder, black.
- Usage evidence: You shouldn't have eaten so much ice cream.
How to use "cream"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "cream" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "cream" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "cream" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "cream" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "cream" is acting as adj, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "abstergent" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "cream", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The butterfat or milkfat part of milk which rises to the top; this part when separated from the remainder. countable, uncountable
"Take 100 ml of cream and 50 grams of sugar…"
- 2 toiletry consisting of any of various substances in the form of a thick liquid that have a soothing and moisturizing effect when applied to the skin wordnet
- 3 The butterfat or milkfat part of milk which rises to the top; this part when separated from the remainder.; The liquid separated from milk, possibly with certain other milk products added, and with at least eighteen percent of it milkfat. US, countable, uncountable
"You may have noticed that any time that filling is mentioned on Oreo packaging, it's called "creme." This is no typo. Technically, the creamy filling inside an Oreo is not cream at all: The recipe used actually contains no dairy; as such, the FDA prohibits Nabisco from labeling the product as "cream.""
- 4 the part of milk containing the butterfat wordnet
- 5 The butterfat or milkfat part of milk which rises to the top; this part when separated from the remainder.; The liquid separated from milk containing at least 18 percent milkfat (48% for double cream). UK, countable, uncountable
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 the best people or things in a group wordnet
- 7 The butterfat or milkfat part of milk which rises to the top; this part when separated from the remainder.; A portion of cream, such as the amount found in a creamer. countable, uncountable
"I take my coffee with two cream and three sugar."
- 8 A yellowish white color; the color of cream. countable, uncountable
"Hundreds of examples remain, still following the same general pattern—maroon, green or chocolate brown, for example, from ground to waist level, then a stale Cheddar cheese shade of cream above."
- 9 Frosting, custard, creamer, or another substance similar to the oily part of milk or to whipped cream. countable, informal, uncountable
"Originally the cream filling in Oreo cookies was made with pork lard."
- 10 A dish prepared through creaming, particularly cream of countable, uncountable
- 11 The best part of something. countable, figuratively, uncountable
"the cream of the crop"
- 12 A viscous aqueous oil or fat emulsion with a medicament added, used to apply that medicament to the skin. (compare with ointment) countable, uncountable
"You look really sunburnt; you should apply some cream."
- 13 Semen. countable, slang, uncountable, vulgar
"2001, Darwin Porter, Hollywood’s Silent Closet: The Lusty Saga of America’s First Star F*#%er!! (novel), Blood Moon Productions, Ltd., →ISBN, page 155, He rode me for ten—or was it fifteen?—minutes before one final fuckthrust that filled me completely with his cream."
- 14 The chrism or consecrated oil used in anointing ceremonies. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"there shall never harlot have happe, by the helpe of Oure Lord, to kylle a crowned Kynge that with Creyme is anoynted."
Verb
- 1 To puree, to blend with a liquifying process. transitive
"Cream the vegetables with the olive oil, flour, salt and water mixture."
- 2 add cream to one's coffee, for example wordnet
- 3 To turn a yellowish white color; to give something the color of cream. transitive
- 4 remove from the surface wordnet
- 5 To obliterate, to defeat decisively. slang, transitive
"We creamed the opposing team!"
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 put on cream, as on one's face or body wordnet
- 7 To ejaculate (used of either gender). intransitive, slang, vulgar
"Danny Zuko: You are supreme / The chicks’ll cream / For grease lightning."
- 8 beat thoroughly and conclusively in a competition or fight wordnet
- 9 To ejaculate in (clothing or a bodily orifice). slang, transitive, vulgar
- 10 make creamy by beating wordnet
- 11 To rub, stir, or beat (butter) into a light creamy consistency. transitive
- 12 To skim, or take off by skimming, as cream. transitive
- 13 To take off the best or choicest part of. figuratively, transitive
- 14 To furnish with, or as if with, cream. transitive
"Please cream these two coffees and leave the others black."
- 15 To gather or form cream. intransitive
Adjective
- 1 Cream-coloured; having a yellowish white colour. not-comparable
Antonyms
Example
"You shouldn't have eaten so much ice cream."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "cream"?
Common synonyms include: abstergent, aerate, alabaster, alabastrine, albescent, albumen.
How do you use "cream" in a sentence?
You shouldn't have eaten so much ice cream.
How do you pronounce "cream"?
Pronounced /kɹiːm/.
Etymology
From Middle English creime, creme, from Old French creme, cresme, blend of Late Latin chrisma (“ointment”) (from Ancient Greek χρῖσμα (khrîsma, “unguent”)), and Late Latin crāmum (“cream”), from Gaulish *crama (compare Welsh cramen (“scab, skin”), Breton crammen), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)krama- (compare Middle Irish screm (“surface, skin”), Dutch schram (“abrasion”), Lithuanian kramas (“scurf”)). Doublet of crema and crème. Displaced native Old English rēam (“cream”) (> modern ream). Figurative sense of "most excellent element or part" appears from 1581. Verb meaning "to beat, thrash, wreck" is 1929, U.S. colloquial. The U.S. standard of identity is from 21 CFR 131.3(a).