Phrase guide

cherry on top

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌt͡ʃɛɹi ɒn ˈtɒp/
  • General-American: /ˌt͡ʃɛɹi ɑn ˈtɑp/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɒp

1

noun

Meaning 1

Synonym of icing on the cake (“a thing which intensifies the appreciation of something already good, or (ironic) the regretting of something already bad”).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: cherry on the cake, frosting on the cake, icing on the cake

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

An allusion to a cake being decorated on top with one or more cherries.