Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

have one's cake and eat it too

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.10 in modern English

Syllables
have one's -cake and eat it -too
IPA
36
Scrabble Score
23
Letters
3
Syllables
12
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To benefit by having two things which are mutually incompatible (such as eating a piece of cake and yet still possessing that piece for future use).

Example Sentences

Inflected Forms

has one's cake and eats it too (present, singular) having one's cake and eating it too (participle, present) had one's cake and ate it too (past) had one's cake and eaten it too (participle, past) eat one's cake and have it too (alternative)

Phrases

best of both worlds butter one's bread on both sides have it both ways run with the hare and hunt with the hounds suck and blow

Frequently Paired Words

best of both worlds butter one's bread on both sides cakeism have it both ways run with the hare and hunt with the hounds suck and blow

Questions

What does have one's cake and eat it too mean?
To benefit by having two things which are mutually incompatible (such as eating a piece of cake and yet still possessing that piece for future use).

How to pronounce have one's cake and eat it too

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “have one's cake and eat it too”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “have one's cake and eat it too”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “have one's cake and eat it too” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.