loaf
1[ lohf ]
/ loʊf /
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noun, plural loaves [lohvz]. /loʊvz/.
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.
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ALL IN FAVO(U)R OF THIS BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH QUIZ
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Question 1 of 7
True or false? British English and American English are only different when it comes to slang words.
Origin of loaf
1First recorded before 950; Middle English lo(o)f, Old English hlāf “loaf, bread”; cognate with German Laib, Old Norse hleifr, Gothic hlaifs
Other definitions for loaf (2 of 2)
loaf2
[ lohf ]
/ loʊf /
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 1825–35; 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
/ (ləʊf) /
noun plural loaves (ləʊvz)
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 hlāf; related to Old High German hleib bread, Old Norse hleifr, Latin libum cake
British Dictionary definitions for loaf (2 of 2)
loaf2
/ (ləʊf) /
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
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Other Idioms and Phrases with loaf
loaf
see half a loaf is better than none.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.