Definition for bread - Oxford Dictionaries Online (World English)

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	bread (bread) Pronunciation: /brɛd/ noun [mass noun] 1food made of flour, water, and yeast mixed together and baked: a loaf of bread [as modifier]: a bread roll [count noun]: Italian breads the bread or wafer used in the Eucharist: altar bread the food that one needs in order to live: his day job puts bread on the table 2 informal money: I hate doing this, but I need the bread Phrases be the best (or greatest) thing since sliced bread informal be very good: they think that she is the greatest thing since sliced bread bread and circuses entertainment or political policies used to keep the mass of people happy and docile: with football and politics as the bread and circuses of our decadent empire, whither religion? [translating Latin panem et circenses (Juvenal's Satires, x.80)] bread and water a frugal diet that is eaten in poverty, chosen in abstinence, or given as a punishment: he could be put on bread and water for forty-eight hours bread and wine the consecrated elements used in the celebration of the Eucharist; the sacrament of the Eucharist: he rejected the idea of any physical presence of Christ in the bread and wine the bread of life a source of spiritual nourishment: the Roman Catholic Church and faith were the bread of life to the subordinate classes break bread celebrate the Eucharist: as we gathered to break bread, a sense of thanksgiving ran through us dated share a meal with someone: Donald’s staying to break bread with* us* one cannot live by bread alone people have spiritual as well as physical needs: we cannot live by bread alone, but it helps [with biblical allusion to Deut. 8:3, Matt. 4:4] cast one's bread upon the waters do good without expecting gratitude or reward: if you don’t cast your bread upon the waters, it won’t come back to you when you need it most [with biblical allusion to Eccles. 11:1] one's daily bread the money or food that one needs in order to live: she earned her daily bread by working long hours know which side one's bread is buttered (on) informal know where one’s advantage lies: middle-class people who know which side their bread is buttered take the bread out of (or from) people's mouths deprive people of their livings by competition or unfair working practices: he declared it would be better to get fair wages than see the bread taken out of our mouths want one's bread buttered on both sides informal want more than is practicable or than is reasonable to expect: the play wants its bread buttered on both sides Origin: Old English brēad, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch brood and German Brot		Search results in the dictionary bee bread bread bin rye bread tea bread black bread bread-kind More results » More words in this category back fat black butter BLT brain bucatini capon Conference coral fines herbes Jaffa 2 kilojoule maple syrup mature olestra orecchiette paddy 1 paneer peppermint scampi wholemeal Nearby Words brazier ¹ brazier ² Brazil ¹ Brazil ² Brazilian Brazos River Brazzaville BRB breach bread bread and butter bread bin bread knife bread mold bread pudding bread sauce bread tree bread-and-butter letter bread-and-butter pickle