loaf
1 Americannoun
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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.
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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.
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British.
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the rounded head of a cabbage, lettuce, etc.
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Slang: Older Use. head or brains.
Use your loaf.
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verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
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a shaped mass of baked bread
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any shaped or moulded mass of food, such as cooked meat
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slang the head; sense
use your loaf!
verb
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(intr) to loiter or lounge around in an idle way
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to spend (time) idly
he loafed away his life
Synonym Usage
See lounge.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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loafsimple
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loafssimple
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have loafedperfect
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has loafedperfect
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am loafingprogressive
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are loafingprogressive
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is loafingprogressive
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have been loafingperfect progressive
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has been loafingperfect progressive
Past
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loafedsimple
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had loafedperfect
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was loafingprogressive
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were loafingprogressive
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had been loafingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of loaf1
First recorded before 950; Middle English lo(o)f, Old English hlāf “loaf, bread”; cognate with German Laib, Old Norse hleifr, Gothic hlaifs
Origin of loaf2
An Americanism first recorded in 1825–35; back formation from loafer
Explanation
A loaf is a delicious mass of bread. The kitchen smells great — it must be time to pull that loaf of sourdough out of the oven! If you're a lazy lover of baked goods, your dream vacation might look like this: the chance to loaf around eating one fresh-baked loaf of bread after another. The verb loaf means "laze around doing nothing," but its origin remains a mystery to word experts — although you might look like a bit like a loaf of bread when you loaf on the sofa covered in blankets.
Vocabulary lists containing loaf
"Mending Wall," by Robert Frost
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A Toast to Bread
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The House of the Scorpion
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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:
Very few people would consider a fresh bakery loaf to be “ultra” processed.
From Slate ● Jul. 12, 2026
You’ve decided to make a sandwich and reach for your loaf of bread, but the “sell-by date” on the bag has passed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
Inspired by tips from Kitchn writer Faith Durand, Mary Elizabeth Williams developed a rustic homemade loaf that comes together in a single hour.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
Google searches, external for this slightly sweet Japanese loaf have been rising steadily in the UK over the last five years.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026
Anya tore two pieces of bread off the leftover loaf and handed one to Babulya.
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
Craftsman’s Valley features booths where artisans show off such skills as blacksmithing or glassblowing, and the Grist Mill churns out loaves of the park’s famed cinnamon bread.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026
Within seconds, the loaves have been pulled apart, half a dozen men clutching onto precious pieces.
From BBC ● May 18, 2026
Loic works alone and starts early, but he still manages to bake around 700 loaves a day, making locals flock in lines before his white truck.
From Barron's ● Feb. 21, 2026
“I was testing new recipes, new inclusions, new techniques . . . basically pumping out loaves left, right and center with nowhere for them to go.”
From Salon ● Feb. 12, 2026
“But calico loaves are equally delicious. Try a piece.”
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
Remove, punch down, and knead a few times before dividing in half to form two loafs.
From Salon ● Mar. 12, 2024
He stresses the “HITS” principle — his acronym for Hustle, Intensity, Takeaways and playing Smart — and counts loafs in practice.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 5, 2022
“Today in the film room we pointed out all the loafs and all the missed assignments, so we can definitely get better week to week and now it’s about being consistent week to week.”
From Washington Times ● Nov. 20, 2018
Wayans’s character loafs through training, and Berg’s undergoes a stirring transformation — and then the champion knocks out the white challenger in 27 seconds.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 23, 2017
The woman lets down a basket by a rope; a few soldi are jingling in the bottom; the basket goes up packed with green stuff, and the padulano loafs on beside his patient donkey.
From Naples Past and Present by Norway, Arthur H.
Maria answered the door as her husband, Jorrit, loafed on the couch in front of the television.
From New York Times ● May 13, 2022
The nearly 400-pound birdfeeder bandit fell for a buffet of birdseed and suet and loafed into a tube-shaped trailer trap.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 19, 2021
But far more it was because the Warriors struggled—because Andre Iguodala got hurt, because Kevin Durant loafed after rebounds, because the Warriors never quite clicked.
From Slate ● Jun. 8, 2018
And in the “early candle-light of old age,” Whitman loafed by the waters of Timber Creek, near his friend Harry Stafford’s family farm in Laurel Springs, New Jersey.
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 22, 2017
They caught the bus, or bought stamps, as quickly as they could, and never loafed around the cafe or the fountain.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
Proof of that is in the presence of Meghan’s beloved beagle Guy, still loafing in the corner as our host roasts chicken and throws together caramelized onion tarts.
From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2025
Singer-songwriter popularized beach bum soft rock with “Margaritaville” and turned a celebration of loafing into a billion-dollar empire of restaurants, resorts and frozen concoctions.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 31, 2023
Oldman: Despite his appearance, and that we think he’s loafing off, sitting there with his feet on the desk, he was incredibly good at his job at one time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2023
We struck up a conversation — about the men loafing around us, about our day jobs, whatever — and promised to meet at the bar again the following week.
From New York Times ● Apr. 12, 2021
I like just listening, just loafing on the grass.
From "Paper Towns" by John Green
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.
