bratwurst
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of bratwurst
1910–15; < German, equivalent to brat ( en ) to roast, bake + Wurst sausage
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How does bratwurst compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Bratwurst is a fresh German sausage that's made using ground veal or pork. Next time you go to a baseball game, try a bratwurst instead of a hot dog! Bratwurst comes from the Old High German Brätwurst and the roots brät-, "chopped meat," and Wurst, "sausage." In Germany, there are as many as 40 different types of bratwurst, which vary depending on where you are, but most of which are served on a white roll with mustard (often with a side of sauerkraut). The first recorded evidence of bratwurst dates to the 1300s.
Vocabulary lists containing bratwurst
World Cuisine - Introductory
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World Cuisine - Middle School and High School
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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.
German nationalists have never fully forgiven America for World War II. Nor for the cultural competition, from hamburgers’ supplanting bratwurst to the omnipresence of American films and music.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026
It described how "1 groschen for bratwurst casings" was spent in the town of Arnstadt.
From BBC • Aug. 14, 2025
The first time I ever had a bratwurst, I was studying abroad in Salzburg, Austria.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 29, 2023
Buttered spaetzle noodles are often pushed to the side of the dinner plate in favor of more sauerkraut, more bratwurst, more potato pancakes, more applesauce.
From Salon • Aug. 25, 2022
We ate the bratwurst with sauerkraut for lunch, but the sausages, which were going to be canned, had to dry first, so we hung them over a pole suspended from the ceiling.
From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
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.
