baking
Americannoun
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the activity or practice of cooking food using dry heat, especially in an oven.
Baking can give cuts of poultry a crispy, browned exterior.
-
food cooked using dry heat, especially bread, pastry, cakes, etc..
Nothing puts me into the Christmas spirit like the smells of holiday baking.
adjective
-
extremely hot.
It was unseasonably cold last week, but this week it's absolutely baking.
-
used in preparing food cooked with dry heat, especially bread, pastry, cakes, etc..
I can't make cookies without a baking tray.
-
suited for use in pies, pastry, etc..
Proper baking apples are needed for a good apple crumble.
noun
-
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the process of cooking bread, cakes, etc
-
( as modifier )
a baking dish
-
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the bread, cakes, etc, cooked at one time
adjective
Etymology
Origin of baking
First recorded in 1300–50; 1650–60 baking for def. 3; Middle English; bake ( def. ) + -ing 1 ( def. ) for the noun senses; bake ( def. ) + -ing 2 ( def. ) for the adjective senses
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.
Once your dates are prepped, lay them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
As chaos unfolded on Sunday afternoon at the 154th Open Championship, Ryan Fox was the man who kept cool in the baking conditions at Royal Birkdale.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
And yet, on a baking afternoon in front of a hostile crowd, a vastly superior Spain couldn’t find a way to punish them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
Several are also sold separately for use in coffee, tea, cooking or baking.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 18, 2026
“Vincent is our head pastry chef. He takes care of most of the baking, along with Rosa.”
From "From the Desk of Zoe Washington" by Janae Marks
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.
