gingerbread — English Dictionary

Noun

1. A type of cake whose main flavoring is ginger.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

2. Something ersatz; something showy but insubstantial.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Figurative
   • Obsolete
   • Uncountable

3. A flamboyant Victorian-era architectural style.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   For a time modern architects took a starkly functional approach to the design of houses, emphasizing clean, uncluttered lines and rejecting most forms of wall ornamentation as dust-catching gingerbread.

Verb

1. To decorate or embellish in an ornate or intricate way.

   Usage

   • idiomatic
   • Transitive
   • Uncommon

   Synonyms

   gingerbread up

   Related words

   gingergingersnap

Noun

1. cake flavored with ginger

   Broader terms

   cake