eat one's cake and have it too

A form of have one's cake and eat it too — To benefit by having two things which are mutually incompatible (such as eating a piece of cake and yet still possessing that piece for future use).

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Meanings

verbeat one's cake and have it too (third-person singular simple present eats one's cake and has it too, present participle eating one's cake and having it too, simple past ate one's cake and had it too, past participle eaten one's cake and had it too)

present singular third person eats one's cake and has it too · participle present eating one's cake and having it too · past ate one's cake and had it too · participle past eaten one's cake and had it too

  1. alternativeidiomaticAlternative form of have one's cake and eat it too.
Cite this entry
APA

eat one's cake and have it too. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eat%20one's%20cake%20and%20have%20it%20too

MLA

“eat one's cake and have it too.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eat%20one's%20cake%20and%20have%20it%20too. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “eat one's cake and have it too,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eat%20one's%20cake%20and%20have%20it%20too.

Source: eat one's cake and have it too on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.