Word
bagel
US/ˈbeɪɡəɫ/
UK/bˈeɪɡəl/
Definitions
01bread roll
n. a round, chewy bread roll with a hole in the middle that is boiled before it is baked.
n. a toroidal bread roll of Polish origin, traditionally boiled in water before baking to produce a dense, chewy texture.
“I usually have a toasted bagel with cream cheese for breakfast.”
“The bakery specializes in traditional sourdough bagels, which are hand-rolled and boiled in malted water to achieve a distinctive glossy crust.”
02tennis score of 6-0
n. a score of 6-0 in a tennis set, named because the zero looks like a bagel.
n. a set in tennis that ends with a score of 6–0. The term is a visual metaphor for the digit zero.
“The champion won the first set with a bagel, giving his opponent no chance.”
“After losing the opening set in a bagel, the underdog managed to break serve and regain some momentum in the second.”
Informal · Slang
Synonyms
03to win a set 6-0
v. to beat an opponent 6-0 in a set of tennis.
v. to defeat an opponent in a set of tennis without conceding a single game.
“She managed to bagel her rival in the final set to win the tournament.”
“It is rare to see a top-seeded player get bageled in a Grand Slam final, but the physical exhaustion was clearly visible.”
Informal · Slang
Etymology
Borrowed from Yiddish בייגל (beygl), ultimately from a diminutive of Middle High German bouc, boug- (“ring, bracelet”), from Old High German boug (“ring”), from Proto-West Germanic baug, from Proto-Germanic baugaz (“ring”). Compare obsolete English bee, Old English bēag, Old Frisian bāg, Old Saxon bōg, Middle Low German bōg, Old Norse baugr. Also compare dialectal Austrian German Beugel, Beigel. See also beag.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.