brioche

American  

[bree-ohsh, -osh, bree-awsh] / ˈbri oʊʃ, -ɒʃ, briˈɔʃ /

noun

brioches plural

1. a light, sweet bun or roll made with eggs, yeast, and butter.

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brioche British  

/ ˈbriːəʊʃ, -ɒʃ, briɔʃ /

noun

1. a soft roll or loaf made from a very light yeast dough, sometimes mixed with currants

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• brioches
  plural

Etymology

Origin of brioche

1820–30; < French, Middle French (Norman dial.), equivalent to bri ( er ) to knead (< Germanic; see break) + -oche noun suffix

Explanation

Brioche is a soft, slightly sweet French bread made with butter and eggs. A toasted slice of brioche slathered with jam would make a delicious afternoon snack. Brioche, like challah or fluffy dinner rolls, is enriched — that means it's a yeast bread with extra ingredients that give it a richer flavor and a tender texture. You can eat brioche for breakfast, use it for sandwiches, or turn it into French toast or bread pudding after it's gone a bit stale. The first use of brioche in French dates from the 15th century, and the word derives from brier, "to knead the dough."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

brioche brioches

Joe’s Kansas City has the Z-Man sandwich: brisket, provolone, onion ring and barbecue sauce on a brioche roll, mindblowing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026

Add the brioche to the custard mixture and gently toss to coat.

From Salon ● May 25, 2026

These folks are way beyond asking if the boulangeries are out of brioche as well as baguettes.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 2, 2026

A brioche bread infused with lemon and Earl Grey tea has been crowned Britain's best loaf.

From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2025

In the morning I walked down the Boulevard to the rue Soufflot for coffee and brioche.

From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway

It is unclear how the plastic ended up in the brioches.

From BBC ● Feb. 7, 2026

Later, the counter began to crowd with flaky croissants, sticky pastry, brioches with amber sheen.

From Salon ● Feb. 5, 2026

It is an absolute no from HTE to all baps, buns, brioches, barmcakes, cobs, teacakes, morning rolls, oven-bottoms, soda farls and other regional bread roll variations.

From The Guardian ● Aug. 7, 2020

Locals balked at first at Saboteur’s prices: loaves of hearty yet delicately flavored einkorn bread for $10, exquisitely airy brioches sucrées that look like doughnuts but cost several times more than Dunkin’.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 17, 2016

There were swings and merry-go-rounds; there were stalls where hot brioches and gaufres were to be bought; there were, above all, little marionette theatres where the most fascinating dramas were enacted.

From The Days Before Yesterday by Hamilton, Frederick Spencer, Lord