bake

American  

[beyk] / beɪk /

verb (used with object)

baked, baking

1. to cook by dry heat in an oven or on heated metal or stones.

2. to harden by heat.

   to bake pottery in a kiln.

3. to dry by, or subject to heat.

   The sun baked the land.

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verb (used without object)

baked, baking

1. to bake bread, a casserole, etc.

2. to become baked.

   The cake will bake in about half an hour.

3. to be subjected to heat.

   The lizard baked on the hot rocks.

noun

1. a social occasion at which the chief food is baked.

2. Scot. cracker.

verb phrase

1. bake in / into

   1. Computers. to incorporate (a feature) as part of a system or piece of software or hardware while it is still in development.

      The location-tracking service is baked in the new app.

      Security features come baked into the operating system.

   2. to include as an inseparable or permanent part.

      Baked into the price of the product is the cost of advertising.

bake British  

/ beɪk /

verb

1. (tr) to cook by dry heat in or as if in an oven

2. (intr) to cook bread, pastry, etc, in an oven

3. to make or become hardened by heat

4. informal (intr) to be extremely hot, as in the heat of the sun

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noun

1. a party at which the main dish is baked

2. a batch of things baked at one time

3. a kind of biscuit

4. a small flat fried cake

Other Word Forms

• outbake
  verb (used with object)
• overbake
  verb
• prebake
  verb
• rebake
  verb (used with object)
• unbaked
  adjective
• underbake
  verb (used with object)
• well-baked
  adjective

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.

Example Sentences

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

Sometimes seasoned simply with salt and pepper, sometimes coated in Shake ’n Bake, that sandy, paprika-tinged breadcrumb mix that crisped into something approximating a crust.

From Salon • Apr. 10, 2026

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about an hour, making sure to inspect and flip the crackers around the 30-minute mark.

From Salon • Mar. 31, 2026

After retiring in 2024, Daley became a regular face across British television with appearances on Celebrity Bake Off, Celebrity Traitors and Celebrity Gogglebox.

From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026

At his insistence, she concedes and makes him an American dinner once a week as a treat, Shake ’n Bake chicken or Hamburger Helper prepared with ground lamb.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

Related Words

• heat
• melt
• simmer
• stew
• warm