cupcake

plural cupcakes

1. A small cake baked in a usually paper container shaped like a cup, often with icing on top.

   But when he tasted a vanilla-frosted vanilla cupcake from the Magnolia Bakery in Greenwich Village in 2004, it changed his life. […] Members of Jordan’s royal family stop by the shop in jeans and sweatshirts, ordering boxes of cupcakes while their bodyguards wait outside.

   2009 September 23, Anna Louie Sussman, “Yes, We Speak Cupcake”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 17 Jun 2022

   Synonyms: fairy cake, queen cake, butterfly cake

2. slangAn attractive young woman.

   Whatever else this cupcake might be up to, she was no piker.

   2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage, published 2007, page 604

   Synonyms: babe

3. slangA weak or effeminate man.

   Synonyms: cockney

4. informalA term of endearment.

   “Listen, cupcake,” Cash tried to soothe. “Sometimes when grownups get mad, they say things they don't mean. I'm sure your mother—”

   2010, Kimberly Cates, The Perfect Match

   Synonyms: cabbage

5. slanghobbiesAn unskilled player or team, especially one expected to be easily defeated by a stronger opponent.

   Australia need a win to progress, but they have a cupcake in Italy for their last, so they're not likely to miss out.

present singular third person cupcakes · participle present cupcaking · participle past cupcaked · past cupcaked

1. intransitiveslangTo flirt; to talk or act amorously or intimately.

   Let's review the tale of the tape: My best friend is being held hostage, I boosted his ride and mobile, then cupcaked with a heater-packing widow-maker.

   2018, Carlos Bayne, Napkin Nights: The Crunk Chronicles

   4 more examples

   I watched Brian as he drove off down the street. I turned and went back inside the studio and found Len at my desk. “I saw you and Brian cupcaking out there.”

   2011, Deontra Woods, Blood, Sweat and Tears, page 102

   But I figured Najah was cupcaking with Johan, Chelsea was eating something that didn't match while Greg rubbed her feet, and Kalena wasn't in a space to talk or listen.

   2013, Michelle Robinson, Right Before My Eyes II, page 100

   She said, “You're always Cupcaking.” I replied, “I'm not cupcaking. I'm enjoying my conversation so hush.” David and I would stay on the phone all night and talk. It was normal for us.

   2014, Zaneeya S., Overcoming My Past, page 170

   “Luck is cupcaking on Myanna.” His eyebrows shot up. “Cupcaking?” “Old man.” She giggled. “Crushing. Your boy has a big time crush on Myanna.”

   2015, Mahalia Levey, Promiscuous Wolf

2. rareslangtransitiveTo flirt with; to talk or act amorously or intimately to.

   “I have thought of nothing but you for many days.” / Leticia actually blushed. “You cupcaking me?”

   2016, Janey Mack, chapter 35, in Choked Up, New York, N.Y.: Kensington Books, →ISBN, pages 247–248

   2 more examples

   “Quit cupcaking me, sugar.” / She was sure she was imagining the warmth in his deep, crinkly eyes, but her belly did a flip and high-fived her heart, as though she truly had succeeded in making him like her.

   2016, Pippa Grant writing as Jamie Farrell, Sugared (Misfit Brides; 4), →ISBN

   Juan winks at her. "Sorry about my language. The shock paralyzed my thinking and tongue." / She smiles brightly. "No worries. I'm a nurse. I've heard it all." / Is Juan cupcaking the She-Ra, Princess of Power?

   2018, Carlos Bayne, Napkin Nights: The Crunk Chronicles, [Morrisville, N.C.]: [Lulu.com], →ISBN, Chronicle VII, Chapter 2, page 131

3. transitiveTo mash a cupcake at; to cover with cupcake.

   Got any diabetes jokes you can share with readers? “I never got bullied the same as other kids—my house never got egged. It got cupcaked.” —Geoff Grant (Las Vegas, Nevada)

   2016, Brian King, The Laughing Cure, Skyhorse Publishing, →ISBN

   5 more examples

   After waving and smiling a quick farewell, I turned back on my way out of the lunchroom – and ran smack into Rusty Kuznevoy, flattening his chocolate cupcake against his chest.[…]Rusty saw the smirk, and I appeared to be snickering at the toughest kid in fourth grade seconds after cupcaking him.[…]Maybe he’d forgotten all about being cupcaked?[…]I recalled my vow of supremacy from last year, the one I’d made just before I cupcaked Rusty, and I reasoned that my science project could also bring me some redemption for the events of yesterday.

   2008, T. David Lee, 108th Street, New York, N.Y.: Eloquent Books, →ISBN, pages 60, 61, 169, and 199

   So Colin crouched down, allowing her to smash a slightly used cupcake against his nose.[…]Avery took the aprons from him, carefully folding them so more crumbs wouldn’t fall to the already cupcaked snow.

   2016, Rachel Hauck, A Royal Christmas Wedding (The Royal Wedding Series), Zondervan, pages 92–93

   She grabs another cupcake and quickly smushes it into the side of my face. I put down the camcorder and get her back. We’re now decorated in pink and white frosting. “I want a selfie of us,” she says. I pick up the camera and record us, cupcaked faces squeezed together, as we crack up.

   2016, Christina Hoag, Girl on the Brink, Fire and Ice, →ISBN, page 11

   “[…]That was after I cupcaked him.” Dead silence greeted her. It ticked on for a few seconds as Nicolette yanked her cupcake-covered T-shirt off and tossed it onto her bathroom floor. “Are you there?” “Yes. I’m trying to figure out if I had a brain aneurysm or if I heard you right,” returned Clara. “Clara!” Nicolette squeaked. “I need your advice right now.” “On what part? The bringing-home-a-guy-to-have-sex-with or the Viking-cake bit?” “Not a Viking cake. A Viking covered in cake—erm, cupcake,” stressed Nicolette.

   2018, Mandy M. Roth, Act of Brotherhood (Paranormal Security®= and Intelligence® (Psi-Ops®) an Immortal Ops® World Novel), Raven Happy Hour, →ISBN

   “I cupcaked her.” “You did what?” “I cupcaked her. It was red velvet. I should’ve used a vanilla one, but I already picked a red velvet one.” “A cupcake.” “They had cupcakes for the birthday party. There was juice, too, but I didn’t have any. It had chunks.” “I don’t understand. What does that mean, you cupcaked her?” “You know, like I mashed a cupcake on her. In her face. Like at weddings and stuff.”

   2018, Alex Grecian, The Saint of Wolves and Butchers, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, →ISBN

4. slangtransitiveTo handle easily and successfully.

   “I cupcaked the bitch!”

   2014 August 28, Seth Stevenson, “Who’d Pay £600M to Watch This?”, in The Independent, number 8,701, page 38

   5 more examples

   “Being an independent coach sure, I cupcaked my schedule,” said McGuire.

   1981 January 28, Mike Fish, “College basketball — the power’s at…: UCLA rules, but ACC top conference”, in The Kansas City Times, page D-3

   After John Garr popped out, Jeff Ward cupcaked a ball to short for a forceout and Black scored.

   1988 July 19, Jack Oakley, “Modified battle is for 2nd”, in The Register, volume 110, number 221, page 2B

   A&M also tackles Louisiana State and Tulsa and further cupcaked its campaign by arranging a game with Division I-AA Middle Tennessee State so it would have a sixth home game, moving Southwestern Louisiana back a year.

   1995 April 15, Kirk Bohls, “A mere 56 years later, Aggies will take 2nd title”, in Austin American-Statesman, page C1

   The Tigers have cupcaked their way to a 10-0 start against giant killers like Arkansas State, Monmouth and Charleston Southern.

   2006 December 12, Keith Jarrett, “Great record might not help Tigers”, in Asheville Citizen-Times, volume 137, number 346, page E4

   “Competitively, I want to play yesterday. I know if I had to go out there and lace ’em up and everything was on the line, like, I’m doing it 100%. … Not that I’m cupcaking it or anything but you have to be a little smarter, take care of your body.”

   2022 February 14, “Suns G Landry Shamet out through All-Star break with ankle injury”, in Arizona Sports

5. ambitransitiveTo cover or be abundant with cake-like decorations such as frills.

   Ahead in the dim dawn rose the white cupcaked dome of the Capitol.

   2016 December, David Poyer, Onslaught: The War with China—The Opening Battle, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Press, →ISBN, page 18

   4 more examples

   Maeve joined them in happy admiration of the baby girl, who had just been christened with the name Genesis and was cupcaked for the occasion with endless bits of lace frill.

   1997, Lawrence J. Taylor, The Road to Mexico, Tucson, Ariz.: The University of Arizona Press, →ISBN, page 34

   By nine o’clock that night the snow had begun to fall even harder. Brendon stood on the corner of 87ᵗʰ Street and Stony Island Avenue beneath a green canvas awning now cupcaked with a layer of white.

   2015, Joe Kilgore, A Farmhouse in the Rain, Winchester; Washington: Top Hat Books, published 2016

   It was no longer light, but I still could make out the front yard, which was cupcaked in snow.

   2016 March, Catherine Lowell, The Madwoman Upstairs, Touchstone, →ISBN, page 271

   It seemed like a beautiful moment as the billowy fabric cupcaked around her lower half.

   2017 May 4, Stephanie Haney, “The terrifying moment a bride nearly drowns as she gets stuck under her wedding dress after jumping into water before FIVE people come to her rescue”, in MailOnline

6. informalraretransitiveTo feed cupcakes.

   Kenny started “You’ve Been Cupcaked” three years ago after she earned a following creating cakes and cupcakes for family members.

   2011 June 19, Stephanie A. O’Connell, “A baker’s delight, and that’s just icing on the cake”, in Record-Journal, 144th year, number 170, Meriden, Conn., page E4

   3 more examples

   So—we offered a cup cake a day for life to anybody who would find us a better word than the word “market.”[…]She wrote to say that the Farmers Market defies description and asks why we don’t just keep on referring to it as the original Farmers Market and send the cup cakes to some home for under cup-caked children.

   1942 March 10, Fred Beck, “Farmers Market Bulletin”, in Los Angeles Times, volume LXI, page 2

   Winnie Ellis “cupcaked” her Decorative Stitchery group and Paul Barnett baked enough of her special bran muffins for all of the Meals on Wheels recipients.

   1975 September 11, Kerrville Mountain Sun, volume 94, number 48, Kerrville, Tex., page six

   “We grew up here and love this community so anything that we can do to give back we will. We have taken cupcakes to the hospital, outreach groups, the SPCA and even the RCMP and firefighters have been cupcaked,” said [Raj] Singh, noting that they would even like to set up a scholarship for local students.

   2008 December 21, Kristi Patton, “Pair display a sweet taste for business”, in Penticton Western News, volume 42, number 153, Penticton, B.C., page 9, column 5

7. informalintransitiveWith out: to saturate by cupcakes.

   I love baking cupcakes, but I was starting to feel cupcaked-out.

   2013, Coco Simon, Katie’s New Recipe (Cupcake Diaries; 13), Simon Spotlight, →ISBN, page 42

   2 more examples

   Ross, a pastry chef who recently moved from California, reels off half a dozen cupcake bakeries in the Santa Monica area she went to all the time, including one called “Le Cupcake” which opened last fall and prompted one food blogger to ask, “Are we cupcaked out? Is there room for yet another cupcake shop in Southern California?”

   2007 September 26, Darry Madden, “Opening her own business is icing on the cupcake”, in The Boston Globe, volume 272, number 88, page E4

   She slid a blue mini cupcake with green and teal sprinkles my way. “Try this Neptune’s Nibble.” I said regretfully, “I think I’m cupcaked out.”

   2021, Josh Lanyon, Bell, Book and Scandal: Bedknobs and Broomsticks, →ISBN

8. informalintransitiveTo make cupcakes.

   And make cupcakes. I’ve cupcaked three times in the last few days.

   2011 August 25, Suzanne Thibeault, “500 Things Project: Thinking about cupcakes and pickles”, in TribLocal, page 12

   2 more examples

   “I told ’em that you would bake us 30 cupcakes instead.” And so Mrs. Smith cupcaked the other night until 1 a. m.

   1955 December 23, Gerald (Gunny) Gunthrup, “The Gunny Sack”, in The Oneonta Star, volume LXIV, number 657, Oneonta, N.Y., page 4

   While many a bakery cupcaked and failed, Robicelli’s continues to withstand the test of time.

   2015, Off Track Planet’s Brooklyn Travel Guide, Running Press, →ISBN