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

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

But the breaking bagel news is that Dallas cult favorite Shug’s is in the early stage of planning a west Fort Worth bagel bakery and sandwich shop. —Bud Kennedy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Nov. 2025

Health inspectors cite the bagel shop after the half-and-half at the customer self-service counter was not discarded at the appropriate time. —Sacbee.com, 7 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