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sweetbread

American  
[sweet-bred] / ˈswitˌbrɛd /

noun

sweetbreads plural
  1. Also called stomach sweetbread.  the pancreas of an animal, especially a calf or a lamb, used for food.

  2. Also called throat sweetbread.  Also called neck sweetbread,.  the thymus gland of such an animal, used for food.


sweetbread British  
/ ˈswiːtˌbrɛd /

noun

  1. the pancreas ( stomach sweetbread ) or the thymus gland ( neck or throat sweetbread ) of an animal, used for food

"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 Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of sweetbread

First recorded in 1555–65; sweet + bread

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:

These days, I poach the sweetbread in milk flavoured with beeswax and honey, then enclose it in a beeswax shell and leave it to mature.

From The Guardian Mar. 5, 2020

The food, by a former Spur Gastropub chef, goes beyond pretzels and burgers, showcasing lamb sweetbread and smoked mussels to pair with the artisanal brews.

From Seattle Times Oct. 19, 2016

“It’s a free-for-all, and you get the fish mixed in with the sweetbread mixed in with octopus,” Mr. Colicchio said.

From New York Times Mar. 31, 2015

The next evening: sweetbread tacos with maitake mushrooms at Empellón in the West Village.

From New York Times Oct. 19, 2011

Sally was going to get permission to stay with us a little and one Thursday she came finally with a sack full of clothes and a paper bag of sweetbread her mama sent.

From "The House on Mango Street" by Sandra Cisneros

Angel Cabrera in 2010 introduced an Argentine asado, well-salted cuts of meat including short ribs, blood sausage and sweetbreads cooked over an open flame.

From Los Angeles Times Apr. 15, 2025

There are definitely a few dishes we serve in the restaurant that are the best versions of those specific items anywhere in the world, such as the beef, scallops, sweetbreads and lobster.

From Salon Oct. 23, 2024

The pièce de résistance is sweetbreads staged with buttery roasted cauliflower florets, punched up with anchovies, and showered with earthy black truffles.

From Washington Post Jan. 24, 2023

Near the Polo Lounge hostess podium, menus have recently been on display from Christmas dinners in the distant past, when moguls and stars apparently washed down “creamed calf’s sweetbreads en casserole” with “frozen apple toddy.”

From New York Times Jan. 4, 2022

The serving men brought out a heron stuffed with figs, veal cutlets blanched with almond milk, creamed herring, candied onions, foul-smelling cheeses, plates of snails and sweetbreads, and a black swan in her plumage.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

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