This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
loaf
1[ lohf ]
/ loÊf /
Save This Word!
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
noun, plural loaves [lohvz]. /loÊvz/.
a portion of bread or cake baked in a shaped or molded mass, usually oblong with a rounded top: I try to keep a loaf of sliced bread in the freezer.
a shaped or molded mass of food, as of ground meat or vegetables: The loaf is made with lentils and vegetables, and you can see the colorful bits of bell peppers speckled through it.
British.
- the rounded head of a cabbage, lettuce, etc.
- Slang: Older Use. head or brains: Use your loaf.
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known asâŠ
Origin of loaf
1First recorded before 950; Middle English lo(o)f, Old English hlÄf âloaf, breadâ; cognate with German Laib, Old Norse hleifr, Gothic hlaifs
Words nearby loaf
loadspace, loadstar, loadstone, load the dice, loady, loaf, loaf bread, loafer, loaf pan, loaf sugar, loaiasis
Other definitions for loaf (2 of 2)
loaf2
[ lohf ]
/ loÊf /
verb (used without object)
to idle away time: He figured the mall was as good a place as any for loafing.
to lounge or saunter lazily and idly: We loafed for hours along the water's edge.
verb (used with object)
to pass idly (usually followed by away): to loaf one's life away.
Origin of loaf
2An Americanism first recorded in 1825â35; back formation from loafer
synonym study for loaf
1, 3. See lounge.
OTHER WORDS FROM loaf
un·loaf·ing, adjectiveDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use loaf in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for loaf (1 of 2)
loaf1
/ (lÉÊf) /
noun plural loaves (lÉÊvz)
a shaped mass of baked bread
any shaped or moulded mass of food, such as cooked meat
slang the head; senseuse your loaf!
Word Origin for loaf
Old English hlÄf; related to Old High German hleib bread, Old Norse hleifr, Latin libum cake
British Dictionary definitions for loaf (2 of 2)
loaf2
/ (lÉÊf) /
verb
(intr) to loiter or lounge around in an idle way
(tr foll by away) to spend (time) idlyhe loafed away his life
Word Origin for loaf
C19: perhaps back formation from loafer
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
Other Idioms and Phrases with loaf
loaf
see half a loaf is better than none.
The American HeritageÂź Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.