Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
dictionary thesaurus

zwieback

noun
zwie·​back | \ ˈswē-ˌbak How to pronounce zwieback (audio) , ˈswī-, ˈzwē-, ˈzwī-, -ˌbäk How to pronounce zwieback (audio) \

Definition of zwieback

: a usually sweetened bread enriched with eggs that is baked and then sliced and toasted until dry and crisp

Crunch on the History of Zwieback

In ages past, keeping food fresh for any length of time required a lot of ingenuity, especially when one needed to carry comestibles on a long journey. One of the solutions people came up with for keeping bread edible for traveling was to bake it twice, thereby drying it and slowing the spoiling process. The etymology of zwieback reflects this baker's trick; it was borrowed from a German word that literally means "twice baked." Nowadays, zwieback is not just used as a foodstuff—the texture of the dried bread makes zwieback a suitable teething device for infants. Incidentally, other twice-baked goods whose origins reflect that fact include biscuit and biscotti, both of which come from phrases meaning "twice-cooked bread."

First Known Use of zwieback

1863, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for zwieback

German, literally, twice baked, from zwie- twice (from Old High German zwi-) + backen to bake, from Old High German bahhan — more at twi-, bake

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about zwieback

Listen to Our Podcast about zwieback

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Statistics for zwieback

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for zwieback

The first known use of zwieback was in 1863

See more words from the same year

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for zwieback

zwieback

noun
How to pronounce zwieback (audio) How to pronounce zwieback (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of zwieback

US : a dry, hard bread that is eaten especially by young children

See the full definition for zwieback in the English Language Learners Dictionary

zwieback

noun
zwie·​back | \ ˈswē-ˌbak How to pronounce zwieback (audio) , ˈswī-\

Kids Definition of zwieback

: a usually sweetened bread made with eggs that is baked and then sliced and toasted until dry and crisp

More from Merriam-Webster on zwieback

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with zwieback

Comments on zwieback

What made you want to look up zwieback? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

Show Comments  Hide Comments 

WORD OF THE DAY

nosegay

Listen to the pronounciation of nosegay

a small bunch of flowers

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Test Your Vocabulary

Farm Idioms Quiz

  • cow coming home
  • What does 'poke' refer to in the expression 'pig in a poke'?
True or False

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ
SCRABBLE® Sprint

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games