baguette
Americannoun
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a long, narrow loaf of French bread.
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Jewelry.
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a rectangular shape given to a small gem, especially a diamond, by cutting and polishing.
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a gem having this shape.
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Architecture. a small convex molding, especially one of semicircular section.
noun
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a narrow French stick loaf
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a small gem cut as a long rectangle
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the shape of such a gem
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architect a small moulding having a semicircular cross section
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of baguette
First recorded in 1720–30; from French, from Italian bacchetta “little stick,” equivalent to bacch(io) “stick” (from Latin baculus “stick, walking stick, scepter”) + -etta -ette
Explanation
A baguette is a long, thin loaf of French bread. Your mom might ask you to buy a baguette at the bakery on your way home for dinner. Baguettes are distinctive because of their shape, and if they're baked well, they have a crisp crust and a soft interior. In the 1700s, the word baguette referred only to rod-like architectural details, though by the mid-20th century, it also meant "bread." In French, baguette means "wand, rod, or baton," and it appears in "magic wand," or baguette magique, as well as "chopsticks," baguettes chinoises.
Vocabulary lists containing baguette
Stairway To Leaven: Baking Vocabulary
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Power Suffix: -ette
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World Cuisine - Introductory
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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.
See Examples For:
She tears into a warm baguette, smears it with chèvre and hands him a piece.
From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026
But on Thursday, Philippe-Chatrier Court transformed into a giant baguette oven and Sinner wilted beyond recognition.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
The zig-zag of that famous yellow shirt winkingly graces a crescent baguette, while the black stripes of Linus’s red red shirt wrap around a slouchy shoulder bag.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 3, 2026
Bread, especially the baguette, is a staple in French diets but also a major source of salt, traditionally accounting for about 25% of the recommended daily intake.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 31, 2026
They ate in bed, picking up the herring with their fingers and ripping the baguette with their hands.
From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu ordered several baguettes for lunch in front of the cameras in the village of Saint-Julien-Chapteuil in central France.
From Barron's ● May 1, 2026
More of these salads are sold at the end of the day than baguettes and sandwiches, he adds, as people see them as a "very meaningful evening staple" .
From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2026
At first, it was the basics: crusty rounds, lean baguettes, rustic grainy loaves, the kind of bread that made a meal stretch.
From Salon ● Feb. 5, 2026
Traditional French bread and baguettes contained about 1.7 g of salt per 100 g, contributing roughly 2 g per person per day, or about 25% of total intake.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 31, 2026
Today we have cold roast chicken, tomato-basil salad, Camembert, baguettes, and strawberry lemonade in the dining room.
From "We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart
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.
