bread

[bred]

noun

1. 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.

2. food or sustenance; livelihood.

   to earn one's bread.

3. Slang.,  money.

4. Ecclesiastical.,  the wafer or bread used in a Eucharistic service.

verb (used with object)

1. Cooking.,  to cover with breadcrumbs or meal.

bread

/ brɛd /

noun

1. 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

2. necessary food; nourishment

   give us our daily bread

3. a slang word for money

4. Christianity a small loaf, piece of bread, or wafer of unleavened bread used in the Eucharist

5. something offered as a means of distracting attention from a problem or grievance

6. See break

7. to do good without expectation of advantage or return

8. to know what to do in order to keep one's advantages

9. to deprive someone of a livelihood

verb

1. (tr) to cover with breadcrumbs before cooking

   breaded veal

Other Word Forms

• breadless adjective
• breadlessness noun
• unbreaded adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of bread¹

before 950; 1950–55 bread for def. 3; Middle English breed, Old English brēad fragment, morsel, bread; cognate with German Brot

Word History and Origins

Origin of bread¹

Old English brēad ; related to Old Norse braud , Old Frisian brād , Old High German brōt

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. know which side one's bread is buttered on, to be aware of those things that are to one's own advantage.

2. take the bread out of someone's mouth, to deprive someone of livelihood.

3. cast one's bread upon the waters, to act generously or charitably with no thought of personal gain.

4. break bread,

   1. to eat a meal, especially in companionable association with others.

   2. to distribute or participate in Communion.

More idioms and phrases containing bread

• break bread
• greatest thing since sliced bread
• know which side of bread is buttered
• take the bread out of someone's mouth

Example Sentences

The sauce seeped into the bread, leaving fingers gloriously sticky.

From Salon

It gives a glimpse of the film's heightened and highly stylised gothic approach, and is full of pent-up tension, shots of bread being suggestively kneaded, and a finger being put into a fish's mouth.

From BBC

The pressure was high during Bread Week as the bakers vied for a Paul Hollywood handshake after making a variety of, well, bread.

From Salon

Fresh food and bread were wiped off supermarket shelves as residents prepared to hunker down, while shop owners piled sandbags in front of their stores.

From BBC

It’s women who would be expected to give up pouring a child a bowl of cereal in favor of making bread from scratch.

From Salon

Related Words

• cabbage 
• dough