icing sugar
The British, Irish, and Commonwealth name for what Americans call powdered sugar or confectioners' sugar — white sugar ground to a fine powder, often mixed with a small amount of cornstarch to prevent clumping.
Definitions
The British, Irish, and Commonwealth name for what Americans call powdered sugar or confectioners' sugar — white sugar ground to a fine powder, often mixed with a small amount of cornstarch to prevent clumping. It's used for dusting desserts, making frostings, and anywhere you need sugar that dissolves instantly. A classic marker of UK vs. US recipe vocabulary: the same ingredient, two very different names.
Dust the top with icing sugar right before serving so it doesn't melt into the cake.
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(UK, Irish, Commonwealth) Powdered sugar.
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🇬🇧About British & Irish slang slang
UK and Irish slang — Cockney, Scouse, Geordie, Yorkshire, Glaswegian, Brummie, Welsh, West Country, plus Irish English. Centuries of regional dialects feeding into modern British and Irish street talk.
See all British & Irish slang slang on Slangora.
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- confectioners' sugar83%
The standard American English term for powdered sugar or icing sugar — very finely ground white sugar used in icings, frostings, and confectionery. The British equivalent is 'icing sugar'. The name reflects its primary use in professional confectionery work.
- powdered sugar77%
(US) Very finely ground sugar to which cornstarch is added to prevent lumping, mostly used in icings and confections to produce a smooth texture.
- confectioners' sugar72%
(US) Powdered sugar.
- cornflour59%
(British) A very fine starch powder derived from corn (maize) used in cooking as a thickener, to keep things from sticking, or as an anti-caking agent.