Adjacent Words

Cream definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CREAM, n. [L., G.]
1. In a general sense, any part of a liquor that separates from the rest, rises and collects on the surface. More particularly, the oily part of milk, which, when the milk stands unagitated in a cool place, rises and forms a scum on the surface, as it is specifically lighter than the other part of the liquor. This by agitation forms butter.
2. The best part of a thing; as the cream of a jest or story.
Cream of lime, the scum of lime water; or that part of lime which, after being dissolved in its caustic state, separates from the water int he mild state of chalk or limestone.
Cream of tartar, the scum of a boiling solution of tartar.
The purified and crystalized supertartrate of potash.
CREAM, v.t.
1. To skim; to take off cream by skimming.
2. To take off the quintessence or best part of a thing.
CREAM, v.i.
1. To gather cream; to flower or mantle.
2. To grow stiff, or formal.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the best people or things in a group; "the cream of England's young men were killed in the Great War" [syn: cream, pick]
2: the part of milk containing the butterfat
3: 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 [syn: cream, ointment, emollient] v
1: make creamy by beating; "Cream the butter"
2: beat thoroughly and conclusively in a competition or fight; "We licked the other team on Sunday!" [syn: cream, bat, clobber, drub, thrash, lick]
3: put on cream, as on one's face or body; "She creams her face every night"
4: remove from the surface; "skim cream from the surface of milk" [syn: skim, skim off, cream off, cream]
5: add cream to one's coffee, for example

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Usage: often attributive Etymology: Middle English creime, creme, from Anglo-French creme, cresme, from Late Latin cramum, of Celtic origin; akin to Welsh cramen scab, crust Date: 14th century 1. the yellowish part of milk containing from 18 to about 40 percent butterfat 2. a. a food prepared with cream b. something having the consistency of cream; especially a usually emulsified medicinal or cosmetic preparation 3. the choicest part ; best <the cream of the crop> 4. creamer 1 5. a. a pale yellow b. a cream-colored animal II. verb Date: 1596 intransitive verb 1. to form cream or a surface layer like the cream on standing milk 2. to break into or cause something to break into a creamy froth; also to move like froth transitive verb 1. a. skim 1c b. to remove (something choice) from an aggregate <she has creamed off her favorite stories from her earlier books — Times Literary Supplement> 2. to furnish, prepare, or treat with cream; also to dress with a cream sauce 3. a. to beat into a creamy froth b. to work or blend to the consistency of cream <cream butter and sugar together> c. to cause to form a surface layer of or like cream 4. a. to defeat decisively <was creamed in the first round> b. wreck <creamed the car on the turnpike> c. to hit with force ; smash <the quarterback got creamed by the pass rush>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n., v., & adj. --n. 1 a the fatty content of milk which gathers at the top and can be made into butter by churning. b this eaten (often whipped) with a dessert, as a cake-filling, etc. (strawberries and cream; cream gateau). 2 the part of a liquid that gathers at the top. 3 (usu. prec. by the) the best or choicest part of something, esp.: a the point of an anecdote. b an élite group of people (the cream of the nation). 4 a creamlike preparation, esp. a cosmetic (hand cream). 5 a very pale yellow or off-white colour. 6 a a dish or sweet like or made with cream. b a soup or sauce containing milk or cream. c a full-bodied mellow sweet sherry. d a biscuit with a creamy sandwich filling. e a chocolate-covered usu. fruit-flavoured fondant. --v. 1 tr. a take the cream from (milk). b take the best or a specified part from. 2 tr. work (butter etc.) to a creamy consistency. 3 tr. treat (the skin etc.) with cosmetic cream. 4 tr. add cream to (coffee etc.). 5 intr. (of milk or any other liquid) form a cream or scum. 6 tr. US colloq. defeat (esp. in a sporting contest). --adj. pale yellow; off-white. Phrases and idioms: cream bun (or cake) a bun or cake filled or topped with cream. cream cheese a soft rich cheese made from unskimmed milk and cream. cream-coloured pale yellowish white. cream cracker Brit. a crisp dry unsweetened biscuit usu. eaten with cheese. cream-laid (or -wove) laid (or wove) cream-coloured paper. cream off 1 take (the best or a specified part) from a whole (creamed off the brightest pupils). 2 = sense 1b of v. cream of tartar purified and crystallized potassium hydrogen tartrate, used in medicine, baking powder, etc. cream puff 1 a cake made of puff pastry filled with cream. 2 an ineffectual or effeminate person. cream soda a carbonated vanilla-flavoured soft drink. cream tea afternoon tea with scones, jam, and cream. Etymology: ME f. OF cre(s)me f. LL cramum (perh. f. Gaulish) & eccl.L chrisma CHRISM

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cream Cream, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Creamed (kr?md); p. pr. & vb. n. Creaming.] 1. To skim, or take off by skimming, as cream. 2. To take off the best or choicest part of. 3. To furnish with, or as with, cream. Creaming the fragrant cups. --Mrs. Whitney. To cream butter (Cooking), to rub, stir, or beat, butter till it is of a light creamy consistency.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cream Cream, v. i. To form or become covered with cream; to become thick like cream; to assume the appearance of cream; hence, to grow stiff or formal; to mantle. There are a sort of men whose visages Do cream and mantle like a standing pool. --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cream Cream (kr[=e]m), n. [F. cr[^e]me, perh. fr. LL. crema cream of milk; cf. L. cremor thick juice or broth, perh. akin to cremare to burn.] 1. The rich, oily, and yellowish part of milk, which, when the milk stands unagitated, rises, and collects on the surface. It is the part of milk from which butter is obtained. 2. The part of any liquor that rises, and collects on the surface. [R.] 3. A delicacy of several kinds prepared for the table from cream, etc., or so as to resemble cream. 4. A cosmetic; a creamlike medicinal preparation. In vain she tries her paste and creams, To smooth her skin or hide its seams. --Goldsmith. 5. The best or choicest part of a thing; the quintessence; as, the cream of a jest or story; the cream of a collection of books or pictures. Welcome, O flower and cream of knights errant. --Shelton. Bavarian cream, a preparation of gelatin, cream, sugar, and eggs, whipped; -- to be eaten cold. Cold cream, an ointment made of white wax, almond oil, rose water, and borax, and used as a salve for the hands and lips. Cream cheese, a kind of cheese made from curd from which the cream has not been taken off, or to which cream has been added. Cream gauge, an instrument to test milk, being usually a graduated glass tube in which the milk is placed for the cream to rise. Cream nut, the Brazil nut. Cream of lime. (a) A scum of calcium carbonate which forms on a solution of milk of lime from the carbon dioxide of the air. (b) A thick creamy emulsion of lime in water. Cream of tartar (Chem.), purified tartar or argol; so called because of the crust of crystals which forms on the surface of the liquor in the process of purification by recrystallization. It is a white crystalline substance, with a gritty acid taste, and is used very largely as an ingredient of baking powders; -- called also potassium bitartrate, acid potassium tartrate, etc.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(creams, creaming, creamed) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. Cream is a thick yellowish-white liquid taken from milk. You can use it in cooking or put it on fruit or desserts. ...strawberries and cream. see also clotted cream, double cream, single cream, sour cream, whipping cream 2. Cream is used in the names of soups that contain cream or milk. ...cream of mushroom soup. N-UNCOUNT: N of n 3. A cream is a substance that you rub into your skin, for example to keep it soft or to heal or protect it. Gently apply the cream to the affected areas. ...sun protection creams. N-VAR see also face cream 4. Something that is cream is yellowish-white in colour. ...cream silk stockings. ...a cream-coloured Persian cat. COLOUR 5. Cream is used in expressions such as the cream of society and the cream of British athletes to refer to the best people or things of a particular kind. The Ball was attended by the cream of Hollywood society. N-SING-COLL: the N of n • You can refer to the best people or things of a particular kind as the cream of the crop. PHRASE 6. see also ice cream, peaches and cream, salad cream, shaving cream

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Choice part, best part.

Moby Thesaurus

abstergent, aerate, alabaster, alabastrine, albescent, albumen, aristocracy, aureate, auric, balm, balsam, barons, batter, beat, beat up, beige, blank, blast, bonnyclabber, bowl down, brilliantine, buff, buff-yellow, bulldoze, butter, buttermilk, canary, canary-yellow, cathartic, cerate, certified milk, champion, cheese, choice, chosen, chrism, churn, citron, citron-yellow, clabber, cleaner, cleaning agent, cleaning solvent, cleanser, cleansing cream, clobber, clot, coagulate, cold cream, colloid, colloidize, collyrium, condensed milk, cornstarch, creamy, curd, curdle, dairy products, defeat utterly, demulcent, dentifrice, depurant, detergent, diuretic, dough, drub, dun-white, ecru, egg white, eggshell, elect, elite, embrocation, emetic, emollient, emulsify, emulsionize, enema, establishment, eye-lotion, eyewash, face cream, fair, fallow, fat, flaxen, flower, foam, froth, gaum, gel, gelatin, ghee, gilded, gilt, glair, glaucescent, glaucous, glop, glue, gluten, gold, gold-colored, golden, goo, gook, goop, gray-white, gruel, gumbo, gunk, half-and-half, hand lotion, heavy cream, holystone, incrassate, inspissate, inunction, inunctum, ivory, ivory-white, jam, jell, jellify, jelly, lambaste, lanolin, lather, lemon, lemon-yellow, lenitive, lick, light, light cream, lint-white, loblolly, lopper, lords of creation, lotion, luteolous, lutescent, mantle, margarine, milk, molasses, mouthwash, mucilage, mucus, nard, nauseant, nobility, nonesuch, nonfat dry milk, nonpareil, ocherish, ocherous, ochery, ochreous, ochroid, ochrous, ochry, off-white, ointment, oleo, oleomargarine, optimum, or, overbear, overlapping, overwhelm, pale, pap, paragon, paste, pearl, pearly, pearly-white, pick, pomade, pomatum, porridge, power elite, power structure, pride, prime, primrose, primrose-colored, primrose-yellow, prize, pudding, pulp, pumice stone, puree, purgative, purge, purifier, putty, queen, quintessence, raw milk, rinse, rob, ruling circles, ruling class, saffron, saffron-colored, saffron-yellow, sallow, salve, sand-colored, sandy, schmear, scum, select, semifluid, semiliquid, shampoo, shellac, shut out, size, skim milk, skunk, smear, snow under, soap, solvent, soothing syrup, soup, sour cream, spikenard, spume, starch, steamroller, sticky mess, straw, straw-colored, sud, suds, superlative, synthetic detergent, syrup, the best, the best ever, the best people, the brass, the tops, the very best, thicken, tooth powder, toothpaste, top, top people, treacle, unction, unguent, unguentum, upper class, upper crust, wash, whelm, whey, whip, whipping cream, whisk, whitewash, whitish, whity, whomp, whop, xanthic, xanthous, yellow, yellowish, yogurt