bagel

American  

[bey-guhl] / ˈbeɪ gəl /

noun

• bagels
  plural

1. a leavened, doughnut-shaped, firm-textured roll, with a brownish glazed surface, made of dough first poached and then baked.

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bagel British  

/ ˈbeɪɡəl /

noun

1. a hard ring-shaped bread roll, characteristic of Jewish baking

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• bagels
  plural

Etymology

Origin of bagel

1930–35; < Yiddish beygl; compare dialectal German Beugel < Germanic *baug- ring ( see bee ²) + *-il- noun suffix

Compare meaning

How does bagel compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• bialy vs. bagel

Explanation

A bagel is a kind of baked good made by boiling and then baking a circle of dough until the inside is chewy and the outside is slightly crisp. New York is famous for having many great bagel shops. A bagel is a traditional Jewish roll that's shaped like a doughnut and often served sliced in half, toasted, and spread with butter or cream cheese. New Yorkers claim that their city has the best bagels in the world, although Montreal is also known for its delicious bagels. The word is from the Yiddish beygl, with an Old High German root, boug, or "ring," which describes a bagel's shape.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bagel bagels

Red pepper flakes and everything bagel seasoning cover the remaining territory — heat, funk, nuttiness, crunch — in a few economical shakes.

From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026

It was the first time a woman had won a Wimbledon final with a double bagel - the name given to a victory without dropping a game - since Dorothea Lambert Chambers in 1911.

From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026

She’s one of us, a fan of an onion bagel for breakfast, even if it makes her breath stink.

From Salon ● Jun. 3, 2026

Queer women are being credited for bringing the fun back to San Francisco with dozens of new restaurants, wine and cocktail bars, breweries, bagel shops and pizzerias.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026

She had brought me a bagel from the snack bar.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

The shop serves single-origin coffee from Ventura’s Beacon Coffee and breakfast sandwiches featuring house-made bagels.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

New York City is awash in food dyes, from Jalen Brunson rigatoni to blue-and-orange bagels, for the NBA Finals.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026

A subway station near Madison Square Garden has been given a Knicks-themed makeover, and businesses across New York City's five boroughs are offering meal deals and special orange-and-blue ice-cream and bagels.

From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026

We could break bread with New York’s famous bagels, except the New York Times told us we have the better bagels.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026

Lunch turned out to be a massive affair, with a thick soup, fresh rye bread, onion rolls, bagels, cream cheese, scrambled eggs, smoked salmon, and chocolate pudding.

From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok