Definition

1. Noun:

   • A staple food: A food made from a dough of flour or meal, mixed with water or milk, usually leavened with yeast or baking powder, and then baked.
   • Informal term for money: Slang for money or financial resources.

2. Verb:

   • To coat with breadcrumbs: To cover food, especially before frying, with breadcrumbs or a breadcrumb mixture.

Examples

• Noun (Food):
  • I bought a fresh loaf of bread from the bakery.
  • For breakfast, she had toast and butter.
• Noun (Money, informal):
  • He's always looking for ways to make some extra bread.
  • I need to earn enough bread to pay the rent.
• Verb:
  • You should bread the chicken cutlets before pan-frying them.
  • The recipe says to bread the fish fillets in seasoned crumbs.

Advanced Usage

• "Bread and butter": Refers to one's main source of income or livelihood. It can also literally mean bread spread with butter.
  • Teaching is his bread and butter. (Teaching is his main source of income.)
• "To know which side one's bread is buttered": To know what is in one's own best interests; to know who or what will be advantageous for you.
  • He won't criticize the boss; he knows which side his bread is buttered on.
• "To take the bread out of someone's mouth": To deprive someone of their livelihood or means of earning a living.
  • The new factory automation took the bread out of many workers' mouths.

Variants and Related Words

• Breadbasket (n): A major grain-producing region. (e.g., )
• Breadwinner (n): A person who earns money to support their family. (e.g., )
• Breadcrumb (n): A small fragment of bread, often used for coating food or as a topping. (e.g., )
• Breaded (adj): Describes food that has been coated in breadcrumbs. (e.g., )

Synonyms

• Noun (Food): Loaf, roll, bun.
• Noun (Money, informal): Cash, dough, funds, money.
• Verb: Coat, cover.

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

(Note: "Bread" is not commonly used to form phrasal verbs. The related expressions are idiomatic.)

Related Idioms

• "Break bread with someone": To share a meal with someone, often implying fellowship or reconciliation.
  • The two leaders broke bread together before beginning negotiations.
• "Cast one's bread upon the waters": To do good without expecting an immediate return or reward, trusting it will be repaid in the future.
  • She volunteers without seeking recognition, casting her bread upon the waters.
• "Man cannot live by bread alone": A proverb meaning that people need more than just material things (like food and money) to have a fulfilling life; they also need spiritual, intellectual, or emotional nourishment.
  • The community center provides art classes because man cannot live by bread alone.

Noun

1. informal terms for money
2. food made from dough of flour or meal and usually raised with yeast or baking powder and then baked

Verb

1. cover with bread crumbs
   • bread the pork chops before frying them