bakery

American  

[bay-kuh-ree, bayk-ree] / ˈbeɪ kə ri, ˈbeɪk ri /

noun

• bakeries
  plural

1. Also called bakeshop. a baker's shop.

2. a place where baked goods are made.

---

bakery British  

/ ˈbeɪkərɪ /

noun

1. Also called: bakehouse. a room or building equipped for baking

2. a shop in which bread, cakes, etc, are sold

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• bakeries
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of bakery

1535–45; baker + -y ³; now taken as bake + -ery

---

Explanation

A bakery is a shop that sells bread and other baked goods. Your neighborhood bakery might specialize in frosted cupcakes. Some bakeries are storefronts selling a selection of pies, cakes, breads, and cookies, while others are simply places where these items are made, to be sold in other shops. People who work in a bakery are bakers — their work involves mixing batter, kneading dough, and cooking baked goods in hot ovens. The earlier term was bakehouse, which was replaced in the US by bakery in the 19th century.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bakery bakeries

What does a bakery owner from San Francisco have in common with a retired British Army officer, a newly-qualified Scottish lawyer, a US Marine veteran, an Edinburgh artist and a teacher from Fife?

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

The only way to really save the bakery is to have a life-size gingerbread house competition.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

“They occupy our streets, our homes, our spaces, and often fail to respect the people who are working for them,” said Stella Arbona, a 23-year-old who works in a bakery on the island.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026

I still think about a shokupan dog I ate years ago at a Japanese bakery in Washington whose name I have entirely forgotten, though apparently not its merchandise.

From Salon ● Sep. 7, 2026

"My instructions were to stay there long enough to be noticed," Gordievsky said, "then to withdraw to the corner and stand outside the window of a bakery."

From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau

“There were no bakeries in Palm Springs he approved of,” Langer says of his dad.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026

These ranged from coffee shops, bakeries and laundry services, to lawyers, councils and holiday parks.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

Around 52,000 Iranians live in Kuwait, where they mostly work as low-paid labourers employed on fishing boats, in vegetable markets and at bakeries.

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

Milstein said the Saunter is now part of New York’s “line culture,” where young people flock to bakeries and other spots that are hyped on social media and expect to encounter endless queues.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026

Parts of Maplewood literally looked like a stand-in for a 1950s movie set, particularly the downtown area with its restaurants, cafes, bakeries, and bookstores.

From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---