bread

[ bred ]

/ brɛd /

noun

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.

food or sustenance; livelihood: to earn one's bread.

Slang. money.

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

verb (used with object)

Cookery. to cover with breadcrumbs or meal.

Nearby words

breach of contract, breach of faith, breach of promise, breach of the peace, breach of trust, bread, bread and butter, bread and circuses, bread and honey, bread basket, bread flour

Idioms

break bread,

to eat a meal, especially in companionable association with others.
to distribute or participate in Communion.

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

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

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

Origin of bread

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

Related formsbread·less, adjectivebread·less·ness, nounun·bread·ed, adjective

Can be confusedbread bred

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for breading

The process of breading and frying is accomplished in this way.
A Course of Lectures on the Principles of Domestic Economy and Cookery|Juliet Corson
A Man of humble birth and no breading, who held a high political office, was passing through a forest, when he met a Monkey.
Fantastic Fables|Ambrose Bierce
Must you prepare meat for breading half an hour before cooking, or when?
Prudence of the Parsonage|Ethel Hueston

British Dictionary definitions for breading

bread

/ (brɛd) /

noun

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

necessary food; nourishmentgive us our daily bread

a slang word for money

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

bread and circuses something offered as a means of distracting attention from a problem or grievance

break bread See break (def. 46)

cast one's bread upon the waters to do good without expectation of advantage or return

to know which side one's bread is buttered to know what to do in order to keep one's advantages

take the bread out of someone's mouth to deprive someone of a livelihood

verb

(tr) to cover with breadcrumbs before cookingbreaded veal

Word Origin for bread

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for breading (1 of 2)

bread

Old English bread "bit, crumb, morsel; bread," cognate with Old Norse brauð, Danish brød, Old Frisian brad, Middle Dutch brot, Dutch brood, German Brot. According to one theory [Watkins, etc.] from Proto-Germanic *brautham, which would be from the root of brew (v.) and refer to the leavening.

But OED argues at some length for the basic sense being not "cooked food" but "piece of food," and the Old English word deriving from a Proto-Germanic *braudsmon- "fragments, bits" (cf. Old High German brosma "crumb," Old English breotan "to break in pieces") and being related to the root of break (v.). It cites Slovenian kruh "bread," literally "a piece."

Either way, by c.1200 it had replaced the usual Old English word for "bread," which was hlaf (see loaf (n.)). Slang meaning "money" dates from 1940s, but cf. breadwinner. Bread-and-butter in the figurative sense of "basic needs" is from 1732. Bread and circuses (1914) is from Latin, in reference to food and entertainment provided by governments to keep the populace happy. "Duas tantum res anxius optat, Panem et circenses" [Juvenal, Sat. x.80].

Word Origin and History for breading (1 of 2)

bread

"to dress with bread crumbs," 1727, from bread (n.). Related: Breaded; breading.

Idioms and Phrases with breading

bread

In addition to the idioms beginning with bread

bread and butter

also see:

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

bread

noun

verb (used with object)

RELATED CONTENT

Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of bread

Examples from the Web for breading

British Dictionary definitions for breading

bread

noun

verb

Word Origin for bread

Word Origin and History for breading (1 of 2)

bread

Word Origin and History for breading (1 of 2)

bread

Idioms and Phrases with breading

bread