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.

---

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

---

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”

Example Sentences

Some proposed baking banana bread, while others considered peeling, chopping and freezing the fruit.

From BBC

When baked, the streusel should form a craggy, golden crust that cracks gently under a knife.

From Salon

Emirates’ broker pushed back on the requested rate rise, saying the potential for a conflict was already baked into existing agreements, the people familiar with the negotiations said.

From The Wall Street Journal

It was loaded with a big bag of flour, a huge silver mixing bowl, salt, buttermilk, and baking powder.

From Literature

“If you like it, I’ll add it to the bakery’s baking list as a regular item. We need more gluten-free options on our menu.”

From Literature

Related Words

• heat
• melt
• simmer
• stew
• warm