I. cream 1 /kriːm/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: craime , cresme , from Latin cramum ]
1 . [uncountable] a thick yellow-white liquid that rises to the top of milk:
fresh cream
strawberries and cream
2 . [uncountable] a pale yellow-white colour
3 . [uncountable and countable] used in the names of foods containing cream or something similar to it:
cream of chicken soup
4 . [uncountable and countable] a thick smooth substance that you put on your skin to make it feel soft, treat a medical condition etc ⇨ lotion :
sun cream
face cream
5 . the cream of something the best people or things from a group:
the cream of Europe’s athletes
The students at this college are the cream of the crop (=the best of all) .
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COLLOCATIONS
■ types of cream
▪ single cream British English (=thin cream that you can pour easily)
▪ double cream British English , heavy cream American English (=thick cream)
▪ whipping cream (=that becomes thick when you beat it)
▪ clotted cream British English (=very thick cream that you cannot pour)
▪ sour/soured cream (=with a slightly sour taste – used in cooking)
▪ fresh cream
Use about 100ml of fresh cream.
▪ thick cream British English
Pour some thick cream over the strawberries.
▪ whipped cream (=made thick and light by beating it)
■ verbs
▪ whip/whisk/beat the cream (=make it thicker by beating it)
Whip the cream until it is thick and light.
▪ serve something with cream
Serve the apple tart warm with thick cream.
■ cream + NOUN
▪ a cream cake/bun British English (=a cake with cream inside)
▪ a cream tea British English (=tea with small cakes called scones, that you eat with cream and jam)
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THESAURUS
▪ medicine noun [uncountable and countable] a substance used for treating illness:
Certain medicines should not be taken with alcohol.
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Has he taken his medicine?
▪ pill noun [countable] a small piece of medicine that you swallow:
She managed to swallow the pill with a sip of water.
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The doctor gave him some pills.
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sleeping pills
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diet pills
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contraceptive pills
▪ tablet noun [countable] especially British English a small piece of solid medicine:
She's now on four tablets a day.
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a five-day course of tablets
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sleeping tablets
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anti-malaria tablets
▪ antibiotics/aspirin/codeine etc :
The doctor put him on a course of antibiotics.
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Why don’t you take some aspirin?
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The tablets contain codeine, which is unsuitable for people with asthma.
▪ capsule noun [countable] a small tube-shaped container with medicine inside that you swallow whole:
a bottle of 500 capsules of vitamin C
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I advised her to take four to six garlic capsules a day for the duration of the treatment.
▪ caplet noun [countable] a small smooth pill that is slightly longer than it is wide - used especially on bottles and containers:
In small type, the consumer is warned not to take more than one caplet per day.
▪ eye/ear drops liquid medicine that you put into your eye or ear:
Remember — if you 're using eye drops for your hay fever, leave your contact lenses out.
▪ cream noun [uncountable and countable] especially British English ( also lotion especially American English ) a thick smooth substance containing medicine, that you put on your skin:
an antibiotic cream
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antiseptic cream
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skin cream
▪ drug noun [countable] a medicine or a substance for making medicines:
a drug used to treat malaria
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There are a wide range of different drugs on the market.
▪ dosage noun [countable usually singular] the amount of medicine that you should take at one time:
The dosage should be reduced to 0.5 mg.
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It’s important to get the dosage right.
▪ medication noun [uncountable and countable] medicine or drugs given to someone who is ill:
He takes medication for his diabetes.
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She’s on medication (=taking medication) , having suffered from depression for a number of years.
II. cream 2 BrE AmE adjective
pale yellow-white in colour:
a cream-coloured carpet
III. cream 3 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
1 . to mix foods together until they become a thick soft mixture:
Cream the butter and sugar together.
2 . American English informal to easily defeat someone in a game, competition etc:
We got creamed 45–6.
3 . to hit a ball very hard, for example in a game of tennis or cricket
4 . American English informal to hit someone very hard
cream somebody/something ↔ off phrasal verb especially British English
to choose the best people or things from a group, especially so that you can use them for your own advantage:
The best students are creamed off by the large companies.