cupcakes

Noun

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. (slang) An 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. (slang) A weak or effeminate man.

   Synonyms:

   cockney

4. (informal) A 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. (slang) An 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.

See all 13 meanings of cupcake