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

Member's Mark Everything Sliced Bagels What is better than starting the day with a New York style bagel? —Kait Hanson, Southern Living, 7 Jan. 2026

In response, the Department of Defense in March 2024 doubled the military’s cutoff level for codeine tests to avoid false positives triggered by poppy seed muffins, bagels and other foods. —Lucas Waldron, ProPublica, 6 Jan. 2026

Create a bagel bar for Saturday's breakfast, then grab a couple of bagels to make this strata for Sunday morning. —Hannah Agran, Midwest Living, 6 Jan. 2026

Or a sesame bagel with plain or veggie cream cheese is really hard to beat. —Kylie Gilbert, InStyle, 6 Jan. 2026

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