bagel

noun

ba·​gel ˈbā-gəl 

plural bagels

1

: a firm doughnut-shaped roll traditionally made by boiling and then baking

2

[from the resemblance of a bagel to the zero in the score of such a set] tennis, slang : a set (see set entry 2 sense 15) in which one player or team wins every game

They were never in danger of losing, taking a 5-1 lead in the first set and registering a bagel in the second.

—Mike McGovern

Examples of bagel in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Fuel Yourself Grab coffee and a bagel at Goodman Coffee Roasters, which has a flagship location in an old train station in Warehouse Row. —Graham Averill, Outside, 20 Nov. 2025

The competition, now in its sixth year, saw over two dozen bagel businesses from 13 states, with some competitors traveling from as far as Honolulu. —S.e. Jenkins, CBS News, 17 Nov. 2025

The former coffee-and-bagel destination will require a full remodel to become a restaurant. —Michael Deeds, Idaho Statesman, 11 Nov. 2025

Although considering the snub only received a fraction of the outcry that his After Hours-era bagel did four years earlier, perhaps that’s telling of the relative esteem that the public holds Tomorrow in. —Eric Renner Brown, Billboard, 11 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Yiddish beygl, from Middle High German *böugel ring, from bouc ring, from Old High German; akin to Old English bēag ring, būgan to bend — more at bow

First Known Use

1898, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

bagel

noun

ba·​gel ˈbā-gəl 

: a firm doughnut-shaped roll