a large bundle or package prepared for shipping, storage, or sale, especially one tightly compressed and secured by wires, hoops, cords, or the like, and sometimes having a wrapping or covering.
a bale of cotton; a bale of hay.
a group of turtles.
evil; harm; misfortune.
woe; misery; sorrow.
a large bundle, esp of a raw or partially processed material, bound by ropes, wires, etc, for storage or transportation
bale of hay
a large package or carton of goods
500 pounds of cotton
a group of turtles
See wool bale
to make (hay, etc) into a bale or bales
to put (goods) into packages or cartons
to pack and compress (wool) into wool bales
evil; injury
woe; suffering; pain
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Anglo-Latin bala, Anglo-French bale “pack, bale,” from unattested Frankish balla; compare Old High German balo, akin to balla; see ball 1
First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English bealu, balu; cognate with Old Norse bǫl, Old Saxon balu, Old High German balo, Gothic balw-; akin to Russian bolʾ “pain”
A bale is a bound-up bundle, usually made of hay. When you drive past a farm in the fall, you'll often see bales of hay scattered across the fields. A bale is a compact, easy-to-move bundle of a crop like hay or cotton. Bales are formed in various shapes by a machine called a baler, and wrapped in twine or wire so they can be efficiently transported or stored. The word bale is Old French for "rolled-up bundle," from the same Germanic root as ball.
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But let's not forget the famous trio at Real Madrid - Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema netted 100 times in 2014-15.
From BBC • May 6, 2026
Gareth Bale wasn't always adored at the Bernabeu, and when former Real Madrid star Predrag Mijatovic suggested those were the order of the Welshman's priorities, it stuck.
From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026
Bale blossomed into an otherworldly talent who went on to achieve feats beyond any of his countrymen, the personification of Wales' golden generation.
From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026
It is difficult to overstate the void Bale left.
From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026
"Bale away!" he exclaimed to the lascars, who were inertly watching their sahib's efforts to free the swordfish's formidable spike.
From The Wireless Officer by Westerman, Percy F. (Percy Francis)
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.
