bale

1 of 4

noun (1)

ˈbāl 

1

: great evil

2

: woe, sorrow

… bring us bale and bitter sorrowings …

—Edmund Spenser

bale

2 of 4

noun (2)

: a large bundle of goods

specifically : a large closely pressed package of merchandise bound and usually wrapped

a bale of paper

a bale of hay

bale

3 of 4

verb

baled; baling

transitive verb

: to make up into a bale

in the field baling hay

baler noun

baler

4 of 4

noun (3)

bal·​er ˈbā-lər 

plural -s

: one that bales (such as a machine that bales hay, straw, cotton, and similar products or a person who operates such a machine)

Examples of bale in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

And then every other day, caretakers distribute 60 bales of hay (at 100 pounds each) to the horses. —Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 June 2026

Building with straw bales is still considered a niche market in Idaho. —Noah Daly, Idaho Statesman, 13 June 2026

Verb

Most operators simply bale their collections and blindly dispatch them to transit hubs in Eastern Europe or Dubai, where overheads and labor are cheaper. —Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 8 June 2026

The clothing is shredded to reuse in padding or insulation, or baled and sent to other countries. —Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 26 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, "evil-doing, threat of evil, harm, destruction of life, torment, grief," going back to Old English bealu (neuter), genitive bealwes "evil-doing, malice, harm, destruction, torment," going back to Germanic *balwa- "evil," in both active and passive aspects (whence also Old Frisian bale- [in balemunda "disloyal guardian"], Old Saxon balu "wickedness," Middle Dutch bal- [in baldadich "wanton"], Old High German balo, palo "evil, disaster, treachery," Old Icelandic bǫl "misfortune," Gothic balwa- [in balwawesei "wickedness"]), noun derivative from neuter of an adjective *balwa- (whence Old English bealu "evil, pernicious"), going back to dialectal Indo-European *b^hol-, whence also Old Church Slavic bolĭ "sick person," Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian bôl "pain," Russian bol'

Note: The etymon *b^hol- is attested with certainty only in Germanic and Slavic, assuming that this comparison itself is correct. Proposed links with other Indo-European branches, as Celtic, are less convincing.

Noun (2)

Middle English, from Middle French, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German balla ball

Verb

derivative of bale entry 2

First Known Use

Noun (1)

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

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1762, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing bale

• bale out

Rhymes for bale

• ail
• ale
• bail
• baile
• dail
• fail
• flail
• frail
• gael
• gail
• grail
• hail

Kids Definition

bale

1 of 2 noun

ˈbā(ə)l 

: a large bundle of goods tightly tied for storing or shipping

a bale of cotton

bale

2 of 2 verb

baled; baling

: to make up into a bale

baler noun