bao
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of bao
From Swahili
Explanation
A bao is a soft steamed bun with a savory filling. If you order dim sum at a Chinese restaurant, you'll probably get to taste several kinds of bao. Bao, or "bun," comes from Cantonese, and it's a specialty of Cantonese cuisine. Bao is different from other dumplings because it's steamed, rather than boiled or fried, and made with yeast. The result is a pillowy case for fillings like barbecued pork or pickled vegetables. Some bao is pinched into a round ball, while others are open, encasing the filling like a taco. You can also call these delicious treats baozi, or "filled buns."
Vocabulary lists containing bao
Foods from Asia
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5th Grade World Cuisine, List 2
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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.
Moonbug’s head of communications Bao Nguyen said the company began to incorporate findings from the research into its creative process in late 2025.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2026
Susan Bao: I work with 20 sector analysts who rank stocks in each sector across five quintiles, with cheap stocks in the top quintile and expensive ones at the bottom.
From Barron's • Jan. 29, 2026
"Our experiments show how critical and effective a rapid interferon response is in controlling rhinovirus infection, even without any cells of the immune system present," says first author Bao Wang of Yale School of Medicine.
From Science Daily • Jan. 22, 2026
A few doors down from Bao Bei, stands another modern Chinatown pioneer, Keenan Hood’s Keefer Bar, opened 15 years ago.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 27, 2025
They didn’t know Bao Dai from the man in the moon.
From "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien
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.
