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• bach
  bach

  noun

  a bachelor.
• Bach
  Bach

  noun

  Johann Sebastian 1685–1750, German organist and composer.

bach

¹ American  

[bach] / bætʃ /

noun

baches plural

1. a bachelor.

2. New Zealand. a small weekend or vacation house or shack.

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idioms

1. bach it, to live alone or share living quarters with someone of the same gender, usually doing one's own housework, cooking, laundry, etc.

Bach ² American  

[bahkh] / bɑx /

noun

1. Johann Sebastian 1685–1750, German organist and composer.

2. his sons: Carl Philipp Emanuel 1714–88; Johann Christian 1735–82; Johann Christoph Friedrich 1732–95; and Wilhelm Friedemann 1710–84, German organists and composers.

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Bach ¹ British  

/ bax /

noun

1. Johann Christian (joˈhan ˈkrɪstjan), 11th son of J. S. Bach. 1735–82, German composer, called the English Bach , resident in London from 1762

2. Johann Christoph (ˈkrɪstɔf). 1642–1703, German composer: wrote oratorios, cantatas, and motets, some of which were falsely attributed to J. S. Bach, of whom he was a distant relative

3. Johann Sebastian (joˈhan zeˈbastjan). 1685–1750, German composer: church organist at Arnstadt (1703–07) and Mühlhausen (1707–08); court organist at Weimar (1708–17); musical director for Prince Leopold of Köthen (1717–28); musical director for the city of Leipzig (1728–50). His output was enormous and displays great vigour and invention within the northern European polyphonic tradition. His works include nearly 200 cantatas and oratorios, settings of the Passion according to St John (1723) and St Matthew (1729), the six Brandenburg Concertos (1720–21), the 48 preludes and fugues of the Well-tempered Clavier (completed 1744), and the Mass in B Minor (1733–38)

4. Karl ( or Carl ) Philipp Emanuel (karl ˈfiːlɪp eˈmaːnuɛl), 3rd son of J. S. Bach. 1714–88, German composer, chiefly of symphonies, keyboard sonatas, and church music

5. Wilhelm Friedemann (ˈvɪlhɛlm ˈfriːdəman), eldest son of J. S. Bach. 1710–84, German composer: wrote nine symphonies and much keyboard and religious music

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bach ² British  

/ bætʃ /

verb

1. a variant spelling of batch 1

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noun

1. a simple cottage, esp at the seaside

bach ³ British  

/ bax, bɑːk /

noun

1. a term of friendly address: used esp after a person's name

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• baches
  plural

Etymology

Origin of bach

An Americanism dating back to 1850–55; by shortening

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bach Bach baches

I hear the voices singing, speed your journey, bois, bois bach.

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2022

Alan Stein bach New York City When you ponder "What to Do About Israel," you miss a key point.

From Time Magazine Archive

“This above all, be true to yourself, and then you cannot be false to any man,” he cried to Laertes’ departing bach.

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein

Of him this was said: "'White Jesus bach is as plain on his lips as the purse of a big bull.'"

From My Neighbors Stories of the Welsh People by Evans, Caradoc

"Cefn bach," she replied—which signifies the little ridge.

From The World's Greatest Books — Volume 19 — Travel and Adventure by Hammerton, John Alexander, Sir

Such “contemplative pessimism,” he suggested, could lead to a better life—and a deepening of genius, as seen in the later works of artists like Bach and Shakespeare.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

In advance of his four-night residency at the Belasco, we sat down with the legendary director of “Halloween” and “The Thing” to talk about Bach, rock and, of course, evil.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026

Bach composed best by hewing to a strict format.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026

Titled My Life In Music, it included touching performances of pieces by Rachmaninoff, Bach and Debussy - approached with a sense of tender nostalgia, as she reflected on her career.

From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2026

Although Bach played on a few of Silbermann’s prototype pianos, he never expressed any great enthusiasm for them.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Popular in Whangaroa Harbour and other locations away from cities and main tourist areas are cottages known as "baches."

From US News ● Nov. 10, 2015

They say he baches it there, cookin' his meals on a one-burner oil stove, never reportin'170 sick, never takin' a vacation, and never gettin' above Thirty-third Street or below Fourteenth.

From Torchy and Vee by Ford, Sewell

She developed a sturdy self-reliance that was surprising in one so young, and long before spring came was indispensable to the two "old baches."

From A Little Norsk; Or, Ol' Pap's Flaxen by Garland, Hamlin