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bake

Syllabification: (bake)
Pronunciation: /bāk/

Translate bake | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of bake

verb

[with object]
  • 1cook (food) by dry heat without direct exposure to a flame, typically in an oven or on a hot surface:they bake their own bread and cakes [with two objects]:I baked him a cake for his birthday (as adjective baked)baked apples
  • [no object] (of food) be cooked by baking:the bread was baking on hot stones
  • 2(of the sun or other agency) subject (something) to dry heat, especially so as to harden it:the sun has baked the earth a dusty brown
  • [no object] informal (of a person or place) be or become extremely hot in prolonged sun or hot weather:the city was baking in a heat wave (as adjective baking)the summer’s baking heat

noun

[with modifier]
  • a social gathering at which baked food is eaten:lobster bakes on deserted islands

Phrases

baked in the cake

informal inevitable or unchangeable as a result of previous actions or events:look out for the next big tax—it is pretty much baked in the cake now

Phrasal Verbs

bake something in

incorporate something as an integral part of a product, service, or system:we have baked in XML web services as part of the core of our platform (as adjective baked-in)the company continues to place a heavy emphasis on baked-in security

Origin:

Old English bacan, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch bakken and German backen

bake in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of bake in the British & World English dictionary