baste
1 Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used with object)
noun
verb
verb
verb
Etymology
Origin of baste1
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English basten, from Anglo-French, Middle French bastir “to build, baste,” from Germanic; compare Old High German bestan “to mend, patch,” Middle High German besten “to lace, tie”; see also bast
Origin of baste2
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English basten, baist, of obscure origin; perhaps from Old French, Middle French basser “to soak (bread), moisten (meat)”
Origin of baste3
First recorded in 1525–35; variant of baist, perhaps from Old Norse beysta “to beat, thrash”; perhaps from baste 2 ( def. ) (the ladle for cooking used as a weapon)
Explanation
When cooks baste food, they brush or drizzle a savory liquid on it as it's cooking. If you baste your Thanksgiving turkey while it bakes, it will stay moist and tender. A chef might baste grilled vegetables with their marinade, or baste roasting meat with its own oily drippings. The technique keeps food from drying out as it cooks. Another meaning of baste is "to sew loosely." You might quickly baste the hem of a curtain before stitching it securely in place. The origin of the culinary baste is a bit of a mystery, but the sewing term comes from the Old French bastir, "construct" or "sew up."
Vocabulary lists containing baste
Much Ado About Nothing
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Blanch, Poach, and Scald: Cooking Methods
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Bronx Masquerade
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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.
See Examples For:
Place the lamb chops on a medium sheet tray and baste with a liberal amount of the charmoula marinade, about 1 tablespoon per chop.
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2024
Street vendors across East Asia scrunch small pieces of meat onto skewers and baste them over hot coals with a sweet and savory sauce.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 11, 2023
Be sure to baste the fish with this liquid during cooking and just before serving.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 16, 2023
To add to the flavour, Taylor’s preferred liquid to baste the turkey with is coffee, butter and maple syrup.
From BBC ● Dec. 7, 2022
Don’t let the great baste carry me off.
From Wild Adventures round the Pole The Cruise of the "Snowbird" Crew in the "Arrandoon" by Gordon Stables
The signature dish, made with sharp, slow-melting Kolot cheese, comes in a crust that’s been liberally basted with butter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
The programme title is a play on Lord Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical The Phantom of the Opera, basted on the novel by Gaston Leroux.
From BBC ● Jan. 20, 2025
It was the second year in a row that Langford hit a game-winning homer in the championship game, having basted a two-run shot in the top of the eighth inning last spring against the Highlanders.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2024
As a child, Yamamoto said he sometimes snacked on soy-sauce basted grasshoppers.
From Reuters ● Jul. 26, 2023
Mr. Fenchel sat all day on his table and he didn’t have anything to do, so he basted and ripped and sewed and ripped on the same piece of cloth over and over.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
I considered basting the tomatoes in butter and stewing them down with miso until soft and glossy.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
In August 2023, the state blamed another botched satellite launch on an error in the emergency basting system, but said it was "not a big issue".
From BBC ● May 21, 2025
But before you start basting the turkey and preparing the stuffing, it’s good to get your kitchen in as good a shape as possible.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 14, 2023
We layer on the flavors - first as a quick marinade for the chicken, then as a basting sauce, and finally as a finishing sauce.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 11, 2023
A quick basting stitch lets her know where to set her seams, her cuffs, her hem.
From "Bronx Masquerade" by Nikki Grimes
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.
