CAKE


Meaning of CAKE in English

n. & v.

--n.

1. a a mixture of flour, butter, eggs, sugar, etc., baked in the oven. b a quantity of this baked in a flat round or ornamental shape and often iced and decorated.

2 a other food in a flat round shape (fish cake). b cattle-cake.

3 a flattish compact mass (a cake of soap).

4 Sc. & N.Engl. thin oaten bread.

--v.

1. tr. & intr. form into a compact mass.

2 tr. (usu. foll. by with) cover (with a hard or sticky mass) (boots caked with mud).

Phrases and idioms:

cakes and ale merrymaking. have one's cake and eat it colloq. enjoy both of two mutually exclusive alternatives. like hot cakes rapidly or successfully. a piece of cake colloq. something easily achieved. a slice of the cake participation in benefits.

Etymology: ME f. ON kaka

Oxford English vocab.      Оксфордский английский словарь.