# bake

/ˈbeɪk/ (US) · /bˈeɪk/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/bake
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. to cook in an oven

verb · CEFR A1

to cook food like bread, cakes, or meat inside an oven.

For teachers: to cook food by dry heat in an oven. Often used ditransitively when cooking for someone else.

- I am going to bake a chocolate cake for my brother's birthday party.
- The artisan baker prefers to bake his sourdough loaves at a very high temperature to ensure a thick, dark crust.

### 2. to be very hot

verb · CEFR B2 · Informal

to feel very hot because of the sun or a heater.

For teachers: to be subjected to extreme heat, typically from the sun or weather conditions.

- We sat on the beach and let the sun bake our skin.
- The hikers were forced to seek shade as the midday sun began to bake the valley floor, making further progress dangerous.

### 3. to smoke marijuana

verb · CEFR C1 · Slang

to smoke marijuana.

For teachers: to consume cannabis, particularly by smoking. Usually used in the passive 'baked' to describe the state of being under the influence.

- He looked completely baked after the party last night.
- The film depicts a group of teenagers who spend most of their summer break getting baked in a basement.

### 4. to incorporate or fix

verb · CEFR C1 · Technical

to include something as a permanent part of a plan or a digital file.

For teachers: to incorporate something into a larger whole so it cannot be easily changed; in computing, to pre-calculate data like lighting into a texture.

- The cost of the insurance is already baked into the final price.
- The developers decided to bake the shadows directly into the environment textures to improve the game's performance on older hardware.

Usage: Often used as 'bake in' or 'baked into'.

### 5. a cooked dish

noun · CEFR B1 · British English

a meal made of different ingredients mixed together and cooked in the oven.

For teachers: a dish consisting of several ingredients mixed and cooked together in an oven, similar to a casserole.

- She made a delicious pasta bake with lots of cheese on top.
- For the family gathering, he prepared a substantial vegetable bake using seasonal produce and a creamy béchamel sauce.

## Examples

- I like to bake fresh bread on Sunday mornings.
- The recipe says to bake the cake for forty-five minutes at a medium temperature until it is golden brown.
- While professional pastry chefs often bake with precise convection ovens, home cooks can achieve similar results by understanding the hot spots and temperature fluctuations of their own equipment.

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