baked goods made from or based on a mixture of flour, sugar, eggs, and fat
"She pulled the golden cake out of the oven to let it cool before slicing into the warm layers."
A rich, sweet dessert food, typically made of flour, sugar, and eggs and baked in an oven, and often covered in icing.
"After the party ended, we gathered in the kitchen to slice into the chocolate cake that was still steaming from the oven."
In plain English: A cake is a sweet food made from flour, sugar, and eggs that is baked and often decorated with frosting.
"She baked a delicious chocolate cake for her birthday party."
Usage: Use "cake" to refer specifically to a sweet baked dessert made with flour, sugar, and eggs that is usually served whole or sliced. Do not use it as a verb meaning to build up layers, which requires the phrasal verb "to cake."
Coat (something) with a crust of solid material.
"When she heard the news that her rival had lost, she began to cake over the victory."
To cackle like a goose.
In plain English: To cake something means to cover it with a thick layer of sticky stuff that gets stuck on the surface.
"She decided to cake her face with foundation before going out."
Usage: The verb "cake" does not mean to cackle like a goose; that definition is incorrect. Instead, to cake something means to cover it with a thick layer of paste or food, such as when frosting a dessert or letting mud harden on a shoe.
The word "cake" comes from the Old Norse word kaka, which meant a baked good similar to today's definition. It entered Middle English directly from this Scandinavian source, though its ultimate roots in Proto-Germanic remain uncertain.