bake
Americanverb (used with object)
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to cook by dry heat in an oven or on heated metal or stones.
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to harden by heat.
to bake pottery in a kiln.
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to dry by, or subject to heat.
The sun baked the land.
verb (used without object)
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to bake bread, a casserole, etc.
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to become baked.
The cake will bake in about half an hour.
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to be subjected to heat.
The lizard baked on the hot rocks.
verb phrase
verb
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(tr) to cook by dry heat in or as if in an oven
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(intr) to cook bread, pastry, etc, in an oven
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to make or become hardened by heat
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informal (intr) to be extremely hot, as in the heat of the sun
noun
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a party at which the main dish is baked
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a batch of things baked at one time
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a kind of biscuit
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a small flat fried cake
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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bakesimple
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bakessimple
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have bakedperfect
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has bakedperfect
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am bakingprogressive
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are bakingprogressive
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is bakingprogressive
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have been bakingperfect progressive
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has been bakingperfect progressive
Past
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bakedsimple
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had bakedperfect
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was bakingprogressive
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were bakingprogressive
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had been bakingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bake
First recorded before 1000; Middle English baken, Old English bacan; cognate with Old High German bahhan, Old Norse baka; akin to Dutch bakken, German backen, Greek phṓgein “to roast”; from Proto-Indo-European extended root bhēg-, bhōg- “to warm, roast”
Explanation
To bake something is to cook it in a hot oven. When you bake a batch of blueberry muffins, your whole house smells delicious. Whether you bake some cookies for dessert, a casserole to take to a potluck supper, or bake a clay pot in a kiln, you cook with a relatively slow, dry heat. You can also use the word bake figuratively: "Are you going to move into the shade, or are you just going to bake in the sun all day?" The Old English word was bacan, from a Germanic root.
Vocabulary lists containing bake
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"If I hadn't started baking and carried on baking, I wouldn't have gone on Bake Off five years later and my life wouldn't be what it is now."
From BBC • Jun. 16, 2026
Since her first TV appearance on the Great British Bake Off in 2018, Williams has built a career as a presenter.
From BBC • Jun. 16, 2026
Hollywood, a judge on Bake Off since 2010, is also a motoring enthusiast who has competed in professional races for Aston Martin.
From BBC • May 7, 2026
Bake this beautiful concoction and sprinkle flaky salt and grated lemon zest on top before serving with pasta or over slices of fresh sourdough.
From Salon • Apr. 6, 2026
In a low voice, I said, “This internship is really important to me. My parents said I can audition for Kids Bake Challenge! if I do well.”
From "From the Desk of Zoe Washington" by Janae Marks
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
