loaf
/ləʊf/US/loʊf/
loaf noun: a block of bread after baking. Also the ellipsis of loaf of bread.
Noun
loaf (plural loaves)
- A block of bread after baking.
- Philander went into the next room[…]and came back with a salt mackerel that dripped brine like a rainstorm. Then he put the coffee pot on the stove and rummaged out a loaf of dry bread and some hardtack.1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VIII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC
- Any solid block of food, such as meat or sugar.
- sugar-loaf1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “IV. Century.”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William...
- A solid block of soap, from which standard bar soap is cut.
- A particular still life configuration with seven living cells.
- It runs for 17331 generations before stabilizing as 136 blinkers, 109 blocks, 65 beehives, 18 loaves, 18 boats, 7 ships, 4 tubs, 3 ponds, 2 toads, and 40 gliders.1989 November 20, Dean Hickerson, “Life: glider gun origin”, in comp.theory.cell-automata (Usenet)
- Running a LWSS into it can produce various debris. One of these reactions produces a loaf. When the loaf is properly hit with other LWSSs, it can be pulled backwards.1992 September 10, David Bell, “Spaceships in Conway's Life (Part 3b)”, in comp.theory.cell-automata (Usenet)
- A catloaf.
Verb (1)
loaf (third-person singular simple present loafs, present participle loafing, simple past and past participle loafed)
- To headbutt
Verb (2)
loaf (third-person singular simple present loafs, present participle loafing, simple past and past participle loafed)
- To do nothing, to be idle.
- loaf about, loaf around
- They don’t (often) kill other animals, they probably form monogamous pairs, and we know they share parental care of chicks, and loaf and bathe in large, congenial groups.2015, Elizabeth Royte, Vultures Are Revolting. Here’s Why We Need to Save Them., National Geographic (December 2015)https://web.archive.org/web/20151213095110/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2016/01...
Also used as
loaf is also the ellipsis of loaf of bread.
loaf meaning in Arabic and Malay
loaf in Arabic
- block of bread
- رَغِيف raḡīf
loaf in Malay
- block of bread
- buku
Examples of loaf in a sentence
- Each day, they pulled the old bread and set out fresh loaves.
- Wrap the loaf in two layers of aluminum foil before putting it in the oven.
- Those sweatpants are great for loafing around the house, but they're not meant to be worn out.
Synonyms of loaf
Forms of loaf
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | loaves |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | loafs |
| present participle | loafing |
| past participle | loafed |
| past | loafed |
Origin of loaf
* From Middle English laf, lof, loof, from Old English hlāf (“bread; loaf”), from Proto-West Germanic *hlaib, from Proto-Germanic *hlaibaz (“bread; loaf”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps related to Old English hlifian (“to stand out prominently, tower up”). Cognates Cognate with German Laib (“loaf”), Danish and Swedish lev (“loaf”), Faroese leivur (“an oblong bun”), Icelandic hleifur (“loaf”), Norwegian Nynorsk leiv (“loaf”), Gothic 𐌷𐌻𐌰𐌹𐌱𐍃 (hlaibs), 𐌷𐌻𐌰𐌹𐍆𐍃 (hlaifs, “bread”) (whence Proto-Slavic *xlěbъ (“bread”) (see there for further descendants)), Estonian leib (“black bread”), Finnish leipä (“bread; loaf”); also Latvian klaips (“loaf”), Lithuanian kliẽpas (“loaf”). Doublet of chleb and khleb. * (brain or head): Rhyming slang, ellipsis of loaf of bread.
Probably a back-formation from loafer.
Words formed from loaf
- loaf about
- loaf around
- barracouta loaf
- catloaf
- catloafed
- confinement loaf
- cottage loaf
- disciplinary loaf
- Dutch loaf
- farmhouse loaf
- farthing loaf
- flesh loaf
- fleshloaf
- foodloaf
- French loaf
- frosted ribbon loaf
- granary loaf
- half a loaf is better than no bread
- half a loaf is better than no loaf
- half a loaf is better than none
- liverloaf
- loaf bread
- loaflet
- loaflike
- loaf of bread
- loaf pan
- loaf sugar
- malt loaf
- meatless loaf
- meatloaf
- meat loaf
- nut loaf
- olive loaf
- pan-loaf
- pimento loaf
- pinch a loaf
- plain loaf
- Pullman loaf
- ribbon loaf
- sandwich loaf
- sugar loaf
- sugar-loaf
- tank loaf
- tea loaf
- temse loaf
- Vienna loaf
- wave loaf
Phrases with loaf
Words that rhyme with loaf
Questions about loaf
- What does loaf mean?
- Loaf means a block of bread after baking.
- What is loaf in Arabic?
- Loaf in Arabic is رَغِيف (raḡīf). See Loaf meaning in Arabic.
- What part of speech is loaf?
- Loaf can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce loaf?
- Loaf is pronounced /ləʊf/ (UK).
- What is the plural of loaf?
- The plural of loaf is loaves.
Words near loaf in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: loaf (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-loaf.wav.
Cite this entry: “loaf.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/loaf. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.