bagel
Definition
Noun: 1. A ring-shaped bread roll, typically made from yeasted wheat dough that is boiled and then baked, resulting in a dense, chewy interior and a shiny, crisp crust. It is often topped with seeds (such as poppy or sesame) before baking.
Usage
- Countable Noun: A bagel is typically eaten as a single item. You can have , , or .
- Common Contexts: It is commonly served sliced, toasted, and spread with cream cheese, butter, or other toppings. It is a staple food for breakfast or lunch, particularly associated with North American and Jewish cuisine.
Examples
- As a direct object: "I bought a fresh bagel from the bakery this morning."
- With a descriptor: "She prefers an everything bagel with scallion cream cheese."
- In a general statement: "A toasted bagel is a quick and satisfying breakfast."
Advanced Usage
- "Bagel" as a Score in Tennis: In informal sports slang, particularly tennis, "bagel" refers to winning or losing a set with a score of 6–0, because the shape of the zero resembles a bagel.
- Example: "The champion served a bagel to his opponent in the first set."
Variants and Related Words
- Bialy (noun): A similar baked good of Polish Jewish origin, but it is a flat roll with a depressed center filled with cooked onions, not boiled before baking.
- Everything Bagel (noun phrase): A popular variety of bagel topped with a mixture of sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dried garlic, dried onion, and salt.
Synonyms
- Roll (noun): A more general term for a small, individually portioned loaf of bread.
- Bread ring (noun phrase): A descriptive, non-idiomatic synonym.
Related Idioms and Phrases
- "To go for the bagel": This is not a standard idiom. The primary idiomatic use of "bagel" is the tennis scoring term mentioned in Advanced Usage.
Noun
-
(Yiddish) glazed yeast-raised doughnut-shaped roll with hard crust
