Meanings
nounfunnel cake (countable and uncountable, plural funnel cakes)
plural funnel cakes
- UScountableuncountableA specialty food made from deep-fried batter and originally associated with the Pennsylvania Dutch region of the United States.
Tomas Montoya has sold festival foods—funnel cakes, burgers, hot dogs—across the American Southwest for years. But lately, business has been rough.
2026 April 16, Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, Elaine Godfrey, “Trump Voters Are Over It”, in Jeffrey Goldberg, editor, The Atlantic, Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC
Origin
From funnel + cake, since it is made by pouring batter through a funnel into hot oil.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἔγχυτος
- ἔγχυτος (énkhutos)specialty baked good
Finnish tippaleipä, struva
- tippaleipäspecialty baked good
- struvaspecialty baked good
German Strauben, Trichterkuchen
- Straubenspecialty baked good
- Trichterkuchenspecialty baked good
Irish císte fuidrimh
- císte fuidrimhspecialty baked good
Italian strauben
- straubenspecialty baked good
Latin encytum
- encytumspecialty baked good
Russian торт из воронки, хворост
- торт из воронки (tort iz voronki)specialty baked good
- хворост (xvorost)specialty baked good
- муравейник (muravejnik)specialty baked good
Swedish funnel cake
- funnel cakespecialty baked good
Cite this entry
APA
funnel cake. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/funnel%20cake
MLA
“funnel cake.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/funnel%20cake. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “funnel cake,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/funnel%20cake.
Source: funnel cake on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.