bread

1 of 2

noun

1
: a usually baked and leavened food made of a mixture whose basic constituent is flour or meal
2
: food, sustenance
our daily bread
3
a
: livelihood
earns his bread as a laborer
b
slang : money
bready adjective

bread

2 of 2

verb

breaded; breading; breads

transitive verb

: to cover with bread crumbs
Bread the pork chops and place them in the pan.
Phrases
bread upon the waters
: resources risked or charitable deeds performed without expectation of return

Did you know?

Bread is a food consisting of flour or meal that is moistened, kneaded into dough, and often fermented using yeast, and it has been a major sustenance since prehistoric times. With the right ingredients, it can be a source of complex carbohydrates and B vitamins (add whole wheat, and you increase its nutritional value). Through synecdoche, its name rose to refer to any source of food or sustenance. Reference to a path to sustenance followed in the 18th century. "I was under no necessity of seeking my bread," recounts Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. Dough had already been used to refer to money in 19th-century slang and, in a natural extension, bread was served with the same meaning in the jazz and beat slang of the mid-20th century ("Dean just raced in society, eager for bread and love," writes beatnik Jack Kerouac).

Examples of bread in a Sentence

Noun She bakes bread every day. The bakery offers a nice selection of breads and pastries. Verb She breaded the pork chops before frying them.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Curiosities Bread and cheese are among the best culinary pairings, but perhaps not when the bread in question is 8,600 years old and the cheese is known for its pungent aroma. Ashley Strickland, CNN, 10 Mar. 2024 His mother made dinner for the Dons’ players Thursday night — lasagna, fried chicken, two chocolate cakes and six loaves of bread. Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2024 The food: On opening weekend in early March, everyone seemed to have ordered the house bread ($5) to admire as a table centerpiece. John Metcalfe, The Mercury News, 7 Mar. 2024 Huse says the three biggest factors are sugar, fat, and bread. Andrew Barrett Schrader, Southern Living, 6 Mar. 2024 Tear bread into 1-inch pieces, and place in a food processor; pulse until coarse breadcrumbs form, about 10 pulses. Sabrina Weiss, Peoplemag, 5 Mar. 2024 Here, Kattan discusses his beloved Bethlehem and its many corners of culinary inspiration, from the local markets and his favorite Palestinian spinach bread, to how the Palestinian struggle for ingredients in the West Bank impacts ingredients and home cooking. Anastasia Miari, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Mar. 2024 Yes, whole wheat bread is a great option for upping your whole grain intake. Hannah Yasharoff, USA TODAY, 4 Mar. 2024 Many families have begun mixing animal and bird food with grain to bake bread. Wafaa Shurafa and Samy Magdy The Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 3 Mar. 2024
Verb
To walk into the spice shop and discover what fenugreek is or to go to the Arab Women’s Union that my grandmother was one of the founders of and buy some of these delicious spinach breads to eat while exploring the town. Anastasia Miari, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Mar. 2024 Calabash-style seafood is lightly breaded right off the boat, and there are plenty of restaurants featuring the local fare. Tracey Minkin, Southern Living, 1 Mar. 2024 Also expect to find typical boneless chicken wings ($9.95), breaded, fried and tossed in one of three possible sauces. James Patrick Kelly, Idaho Statesman, 31 Jan. 2024 Its large chicken tenders are first brined, then breaded, fried, and spiced. Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press, 8 Jan. 2024 In another heretical post, Lee deep fries a whole fresh black truffle after submerging it in an egg wash and breading it with Shake ‘N Bake. Adam Reiner, Bon Appétit, 6 Jan. 2024 In short order, Pandya, who's been eating here since high school, filled our table with seafood dishes swimming in red gravy or delicately breaded and fried, like bombil fry, or Bombay duck, as the fish is known in local parlance (and yes, it has since been added to Dhamaka's menu). Alex Bhattacharji, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Dec. 2023 The golden rounds come with lemon creme fraiche for dunking and are breaded in rice flour, hence gluten-free. Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 24 Nov. 2023 Active Time: 1 hr 25 mins Total Time: 1 hr 25 mins Servings: 4 A staple of Italian cuisine, arancini are risotto balls that are breaded and fried. Southern Living Test Kitchen, Southern Living, 6 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bread.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English breed, from Old English brēad; akin to Old High German brōt bread, Old English brēowan to brew

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

circa 1600, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bread was before the 12th century

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Cite this Entry

“Bread.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bread. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

bread

1 of 2 noun
1
: a baked food made of flour or meal
2
3
slang : money sense 1a

bread

2 of 2 verb
: to cover with bread crumbs
breaded pork chops

More from Merriam-Webster on bread

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