verb A2 Elementary Common

bake

bayk

Bake (verb) means to cook food using dry heat in an oven. Example: “She baked a batch of cookies for the school fair.”

verb

To cook food using dry heat in an oven.

"She baked a batch of cookies for the school fair."

"The bread needs to bake for about forty minutes."

To harden or dry something using heat.

"The desert sun baked the clay ground until it cracked."

noun

A social event where food is baked or served, or a baked dish itself.

"The neighborhood held a fish bake down by the shore."

How to use bake

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishTo cook something in an oven using dry heat, or more broadly, to harden or dry something with heat.

Common pairings

bake a cake bake bread bake in the sun

Word forms

baked past tense, book past tense, baken past tense, bakes plural, bakes singular

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Fill the gap

Can you complete this real example?

She _____ a batch of cookies for the school fair.

Etymology

From Old English bacan ("to bake"), from a Proto-Germanic root shared with Dutch bakken and German backen.

Origin: Old English

Synonyms

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roast cook oven-cook harden fire dry

Related words

fire term match technology sweet throw raise excellent

Rhymes for bake

ake take make rake wake cake lake sake fake jake Dake snake

See all rhymes for bake →

Frequently asked questions

What does “bake” mean?

The word “bake” means to cook food using dry heat in an oven. In plain terms, to cook something in an oven using dry heat, or more broadly, to harden or dry something with heat.

How do you pronounce “bake”?

“Bake” is pronounced bayk (/beɪk/ in IPA).

How do you use “bake” in a sentence?

Here is “bake” used in a sentence: “She baked a batch of cookies for the school fair.”

What part of speech is “bake”?

Depending on how it is used, “bake” can be a verb and a noun.

Where does the word “bake” come from?

The word “bake” comes from Old English. From Old English bacan ("to bake"), from a Proto-Germanic root shared with Dutch bakken and German backen.

Is “bake” a common word?

“Bake” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A2 level.

How many meanings does “bake” have?

“Bake” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: to cook food using dry heat in an oven.

What is the difference between baking and roasting?

Both use dry heat in an oven, but roasting usually means higher temperatures for foods like meat and vegetables. Baking more often refers to items such as bread, cakes, and casseroles cooked at moderate heat.

What is the difference between baking and broiling?

Baking surrounds food with dry heat from all around. Broiling cooks with intense, direct heat from above, browning the surface quickly.

What is a "bake" when used as a noun?

As a noun, a bake can be a social event where food is baked or served, such as a clam bake, or the baked dish itself.

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