bread
Americannoun
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breads
plural
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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)
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breads,
present (3rd person singular)
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breaded,
past participle, past
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breading
present participle
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
-
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:
Put some butter on your bread, or cheese, and that is probably from the West Country's other farmers - dairy producers.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Demand exploded locally this decade, most memorably during a purple bread mania that swept the archipelago in the darkest days of the Covid-19 pandemic.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
But AI’s often imperfect renderings, including bread that “looks like reptile skin” and shrimp that looks like “otherworldly fleshy rings” are often a turnoff.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
The installation was meant to challenge Muslim stereotypes while making a subversive nod to the bread as a famous French symbol.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
You pop it into your mouth, the strawberry perfectly ripe, the bread melting against your tongue.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
"You will see fast food, Indian breads and curries, desserts, and whatever else people have been sending," said Kaanita, a 21-year-old student.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
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
"We are a butchery, fishmonger, a deli for your fruits, veg, local breads, honies, jams, preserves," he said.
From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2026
There was a small metal table covered in fresh fruits, breads, butter, cheeses, and hard-boiled eggs.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
Several Argentine restaurants proudly serve the milanesa - an Argentine dish of breaded beef or chicken which is thought to be one of Messi's favourites.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
Simple, playful and deliciously processed, the breaded chicken nuggets can be found in abundance inside my kitchen freezer.
From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2026
But many customers gravitated toward the breaded shrimp, and executives didn’t want to disappoint them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
She takes a bite of a breaded cheese stick and stretches the mozzarella, like, a foot and a half away from her mouth.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2025
There’s a breaded, fried, patty-like thing lying in the middle of each plate.
From "The Fourteenth Goldfish" by Jennifer L. Holm
It was almost limp with moisture, and there was an obvious contrast between where the breading ended and the chicken began.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026
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
She advises breading and frying before dipping into a tartar sauce or marinara.
From Salon ● May 21, 2025
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.
