toast1

 
Pronunciation: /təʊst/

noun

  • 1 [mass noun] sliced bread browned on both sides by exposure to radiant heat, such as a grill or fire: she buttered a slice of toast [count noun]: Stilton and pear toasts
  • 2a call to a gathering of people to raise their glasses and drink together in honour of a person or thing, or an instance of drinking in this way: he raised his glass in a toast to his son
  • [in singular] a person or thing that is very popular or held in high regard by a particular group of people: he found himself the toast of the baseball world

verb

[with object]
  • 1cook or brown (food, especially bread or cheese) by exposure to a grill, fire, or other source of radiant heat: he sat by the fire and toasted a piece of bread (as adjective toasted) a toasted cheese sandwich
  • [no object] (of food) cook or become brown by exposure to radiant heat: place under a hot grill until the nuts have toasted
  • warm (oneself or part of one’s body) in front of a fire or other source or heat: Tim was toasting his feet by the fire we were spread out on the grass toasting ourselves one hot day
  • 2drink to the health or in honour of (someone or something) by raising one’s glass together with others: happy families toasting each other’s health figurative he is toasted by the trade as the outstanding dealer in children’s books

Phrases

be toast

informal be or be likely to become finished, defunct, or dead: one mistake and you’re toast

have someone on toast

British informal be in a position to deal with someone as one wishes: the more he thought, the more I knew I had him on toast

Origin:

late Middle English (as a verb in the sense 'burn as the sun does, parch'): from Old French toster 'roast', from Latin torrere 'parch'. The practice of drinking a toast (toast1 (sense 2 of the noun)) goes back to the late 17th century, and originated in naming a lady whose health the company was requested to drink, the idea being that the lady's name flavoured the drink like the pieces of spiced toast that were formerly placed in drinks such as wine