cupcake
/ˈkʌpkeɪk/noun, verb
cupcake is spelled C-U-P-C-A-K-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,297th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, cupcake means “A small cake baked in a usually paper container shaped like a cup, often with icing on top” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of cupcake is cupcakes.
How many letters and syllables are in cupcake?
| Letters | 7: C-U-P-C-A-K-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.2 times per million words; the 18,297th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is cupcake?
Cupcake appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,297th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce cupcake?
- /ˈkʌpkeɪk/
Cupcake has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-cupcake.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of cupcake
- cupcakes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- cupcaking participle, present
- cupcaked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does cupcake mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A small cake baked in a usually paper container shaped like a cup, often with icing on top.
- 2
slangAn attractive young woman.
- 3
slangA weak or effeminate man.
- 4
informalA term of endearment.
- 5
slangAn 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.
verb
- 1
slangTo flirt; to talk or act amorously or intimately.
- 2
rareslangTo flirt with; to talk or act amorously or intimately to.
- 3
To mash a cupcake at; to cover with cupcake.
- 4
slangTo handle easily and successfully.
- 5
To cover or be abundant with cake-like decorations such as frills.
- 6
informalrareTo feed cupcakes.
- 7
informalWith out: to saturate by cupcakes.
- 8
informalTo make cupcakes.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Cupcake in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense small cake:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | cupcake |
| German | Cupcake, Tassenkuchen |
| Portuguese | cupcake, bolinho |
| Spanish | magdalena, ponqué, panqué, quequito, pastel de taza, tortita |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does cupcake come from?
From cup + cake.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).