bagel

noun

ba·​gel ˈbā-gəl How to pronounce bagel (audio)
plural bagels
1
: a firm doughnut-shaped roll traditionally made by boiling and then baking
2
[from the resemblance of a bagel to the zero in the score of such a set] tennis, slang : a set (see set entry 2 sense 15) in which one player or team wins every game
They were never in danger of losing, taking a 5-1 lead in the first set and registering a bagel in the second.Mike McGovern

Examples of bagel in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The third South Florida spot on the list was One Grind in Key Largo, which serves various coffees as well as breakfast items like bagels, avocado toast, crunch wraps and biscuit tacos. Miami Herald, 11 July 2025 The menu also features oatmeal bowls, bagels, breakfast sandwiches, cereal sundaes and shakes, smoothies, coffee and more. Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025 Polish and Eastern European Jewish refugees brought the bagel to New York in the late 1800s, just before Southern Italians gave the city its famed style of pizza. Bradley Hohulin, IndyStar, 2 July 2025 So many other bagels come either under or over toasted. Michelle Greenwald, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for bagel

Word History

Etymology

Yiddish beygl, from Middle High German *böugel ring, from bouc ring, from Old High German; akin to Old English bēag ring, būgan to bend — more at bow

First Known Use

1908, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of bagel was in 1908

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Cite this Entry

“Bagel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bagel. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

bagel

noun
ba·​gel ˈbā-gəl How to pronounce bagel (audio)
: a firm doughnut-shaped roll

More from Merriam-Webster on bagel

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