baster

¹ American  

[bey-ster] / ˈbeɪ stər /

noun

Sewing.

1. a person or thing that bastes.

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baster ² American  

[bey-ster] / ˈbeɪ stər /

noun

1. a person who bastes meat or other food.

2. a large glass, plastic, or metal tube with a rubber bulb at one end and a small opening at the other, to be filled with butter, drippings, etc., for basting food as it is cooking.

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Etymology

Origin of baster¹

First recorded in 1880–85; baste ¹ + -er ¹

Origin of baster²

First recorded in 1515–25; baste ² + -er ¹

Example Sentences

“Two o’clock in the afternoon,” Stewart said while sporting a “Thanksgiving Queen” sache alongside a gold crown and gold turkey baster.

From Salon • Nov. 20, 2025

He’ll give something useful, like an oven mitt or turkey baster.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 27, 2022

If they get too wet, their little roots will rot, Bird said, so water sparingly only when the moss is dry, using an eyedropper or turkey baster to get the water close to the roots.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 29, 2021

As the sun set in Tanzania on a September evening in 2014, Jeff Leach inserted a turkey baster filled with another man’s feces into his rectum and squeezed the bulb.

From New York Times • Jul. 19, 2021

Mia thought of the tray still sitting in the guest room, of Madeline rinsing the baster and the cup in the kitchen sink, readying them for their next use.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng