bake

1 of 2

verb

ˈbāk 

baked; baking; bakes

transitive verb

1

: to cook by dry heat especially in an oven

bake a cake

bake bread

baked potatoes

baking [=roasting] a chicken

2

: to dry or harden by subjecting to heat

intransitive verb

1

: to prepare food by baking it

a cook who enjoys baking

2

: to become baked

a loaf of bread baking in the oven

3

: to be or become extremely hot

sidewalks baking in the sun

bake

2 of 2

noun

1

: the act or process of baking

2

: a social gathering at which a baked food is served

Examples of bake in a Sentence

Verb

She wrapped the fish in foil and baked it for 15 minutes.

How long has the cake been baking?

They baked the bricks in the sun.

The streets were baking in the afternoon heat.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Europe has baked under a historic, extraordinary heat wave recently, according to the World Meteorological Organization, with Germany breaking all-time temperature records and nights bringing little relief. — Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2026

Pallets of bottled water outside the cooling tent sat baking in the sun. — Kyla Guilfoil, NBC news, 5 July 2026

Noun

Press two-thirds of the dough (about 1 1/3 cups) into bottom of prepared pan; bake 10 minutes. — Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 10 July 2026

Databricks sits close to real spending decisions, and its customers are not running model bake-offs for entertainment. — Jon Markman, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, from Old English bacan; akin to Old High German bahhan to bake, Greek phōgein to roast

First Known Use

Verb

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

Noun

1835, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing bake

• bake sale
• pre-bake
• wake-and-bake

Rhymes for bake

• ache
• ake
• brake
• break
• cake
• craik
• crake
• fake
• flake
• hake
• jake
• lake

Kids Definition

bake

1 of 2 verb

ˈbāk 

baked; baking

1

: to cook or become cooked by dry heat especially in an oven

2

: to dry or harden by heat

bake bricks

3

: to be or become very hot

a sidewalk baking in the sun

baker noun

bake

2 of 2 noun

1

: the act or process of baking

2

: a social gathering at which a baked food is served

especially : clambake