bread
Americannoun
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a kind of food made of flour or meal that has been mixed with milk or water, made into a dough or batter, with or without yeast or other leavening agent, and baked.
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food or sustenance; livelihood.
to earn one's bread.
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Slang. money.
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Ecclesiastical. the wafer or bread used in a Eucharistic service.
verb (used with object)
idioms
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know which side one's bread is buttered on, to be aware of those things that are to one's own advantage.
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take the bread out of someone's mouth, to deprive someone of livelihood.
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cast one's bread upon the waters, to act generously or charitably with no thought of personal gain.
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break bread,
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to eat a meal, especially in companionable association with others.
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to distribute or participate in Communion.
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noun
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a food made from a dough of flour or meal mixed with water or milk, usually raised with yeast or baking powder and then baked
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necessary food; nourishment
give us our daily bread
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a slang word for money
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Christianity a small loaf, piece of bread, or wafer of unleavened bread used in the Eucharist
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something offered as a means of distracting attention from a problem or grievance
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See break
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to do good without expectation of advantage or return
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to know what to do in order to keep one's advantages
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to deprive someone of a livelihood
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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breadsimple
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breadssimple
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have breadedperfect
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has breadedperfect
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am breadingprogressive
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are breadingprogressive
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is breadingprogressive
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have been breadingperfect progressive
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has been breadingperfect progressive
Past
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breadedsimple
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had breadedperfect
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was breadingprogressive
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were breadingprogressive
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had been breadingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bread
before 950; 1950–55 bread for def. 3; Middle English breed, Old English brēad fragment, morsel, bread; cognate with German Brot
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:
In the original 2009 paper, the concept was that any food which required some form of cooking—including bread, cured sausages, corn chips, etc.—would be considered an “ultra” processed food product.
From Slate ● Jul. 12, 2026
Just a few days ago, I had a chicken salad on raisin bread with an Arnold Palmer, and it was delicious.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
"We've stocked up on some instant noodles and bread and stuff like that. Once the wind and rain really start picking up, we’ll have to close the shop."
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
Defense, after all, is hardly the company’s bread and butter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
Betsie cut three slices from the round loaf of bread while I looked around the table trying to decide which adult would be most enthusiastic about my decision to stay at home.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
The Salon archives are already full of breads worthy of a place on your dinner table.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
Some cereals and breads are also fortified with it, helping people who do not eat meat get enough.
From Science Daily ● May 27, 2026
Among Ms. Ahmed’s recipes you’ll find simple porridges and breads, as well as more richly seasoned side and main dishes, many spiced with xaawash—that hint of North African, Middle Eastern and Indian influence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
That's probably why this flatbread has become one of the most popular breads in the world.
From BBC ● Dec. 29, 2025
But Mother warned us not to eat any of the chocolate spreads, jams, sliced breads, or cookies, or drink any of the chocolate milk in the cartons the soldiers regularly left behind.
From "Tasting the Sky" by Ibtisam Barakat
Simple, playful and deliciously processed, the breaded chicken nuggets can be found in abundance inside my kitchen freezer.
From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2026
A Buffalo Chicken pizza with housemade hot sauce, breaded chicken, mozzarella and ricotta is as experimental as he gets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2025
Further, the amount of Cs-137 detected in the one batch of breaded shrimp was really quite low.
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2025
One sample of breaded shrimp tested positive for the substance, but this positive sample "did not enter US commerce", the FDA said.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2025
We send them to factories and press them into breaded sticks and patties.
From "The Thing About Jellyfish" by Ali Benjamin
Many all-you-can-eat menus lead with heavy, low-cost carbohydrates like pasta or thick breading to trigger fullness before you’ve reached the break-even point on higher-cost proteins.
From MarketWatch ● May 14, 2026
When not working shifts at Echo Park vegetarian restaurant Elf Cafe, Kopushyan toiled in his home kitchen with spice blends for four and a half months, obsessively tinkering with breading, seasoning and frying.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2025
"I was half way through breading fish for tea, it ran through the three bowls which I had to throw away," Donna said.
From BBC ● Mar. 14, 2025
Look for cutlets that are about ¼ inch thick so they cook through at the same speed the breading browns.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 22, 2023
She finishes breading the final croquette, then glances at her wristwatch.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
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.
