What does "toast" mean?
Bread that has been toasted (cooked lightly by browning).
Toast
/təʊst/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Bread that has been toasted (cooked lightly by browning).
- Grammar: toast is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: address, anniversaries, anniversary, appreciation.
- Useful contrasts: cool, ignore, neglect.
- Usage evidence: Let's drink a toast to our friends!
How to use "toast"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "toast" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "toast" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "toast" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "toast" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "toast" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "address" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "toast", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Bread that has been toasted (cooked lightly by browning). uncountable
"I ate a piece of toast for breakfast."
- 2 slices of bread that have been toasted wordnet
- 3 A proposed salutation (e.g. saying "cheers") while drinking alcohol. countable
"At the reception, there were many toasts from the well-wishers."
- 4 a drink in honor of or to the health of a person or event wordnet
- 5 A person, group, or notable object to which a salutation with alcohol is made; a person or group held in similar esteem. countable
"He was the toast of high society."
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 a person in desperate straits; someone doomed wordnet
- 7 Something that is irreparably damaged or used up, especially when destroyed by heat or fire; something which has been burnt to a crisp or incinerated. US, slang, uncountable
"The metal frame survived the fire, but the plastic and rubber bits are toast."
- 8 a celebrity who receives much acclaim and attention wordnet
- 9 Something that will be no more; something subject to impending destruction, harm or injury. US, slang, uncountable
"to become/be toast"
- 10 A type of extemporaneous narrative poem or rap. Jamaica, countable, slang
- 11 An old toast ("a lively fellow who drinks excessively"). countable, obsolete, slang
- 12 A transient, informational unclickable pop-up overlay, less interactive than a snackbar. countable
"With the new Windows Push Notification Service, you can remotely send notifications from a cloud-based web service. In Windows 8, the majority of the Toast messages are standard duration toasts."
- 13 A piece of toast. countable
"Go, fetch me a quart of Sacke, put a toſt in't."
Verb
- 1 To cook lightly by browning via direct exposure to a fire or other heat source. transitive
"We used to enjoy toasting marshmallows around the campfire."
- 2 make brown and crisp by heating wordnet
- 3 To cook lightly by browning under a grill or in a toaster; to grill. intransitive, specifically
"Top with cheese and toast under the grill for a few minutes."
- 4 propose a toast to wordnet
- 5 To engage in a salutation, often with raising of the drinking vessel, while drinking an alcoholic beverage in honor of someone or something. ambitransitive
"We toasted the happy couple many times over the course of the evening."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 To warm thoroughly. transitive
"I toasted my feet by the fire."
- 7 To perform an extemporaneous narrative poem or rap. Jamaica, slang
"Toasting over a record does more than change the way that record is perceived by the audience: it creates a new piece of music with joint creative authorship, although the law does not support this characterization."
Proper Noun
- 1 Initialism of The Oversized-Attribute Storage Technique: a mechanism in PostgreSQL that allows rows of data to exceed the normal maximum size by splitting off part of the data into an auxiliary table. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
Example
"Let's drink a toast to our friends!"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "toast"?
Common synonyms include: address, anniversaries, anniversary, appreciation, bake, barbecue.
How do you use "toast" in a sentence?
Let's drink a toast to our friends!
How do you pronounce "toast"?
Pronounced /təʊst/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English tost, from the verb tosten (see below).
Etymology 2
From Middle English tosten, from Old French toster (“to roast, grill”), from Latin tostus (“grilled, burnt”), from verb torreō (“to burn, grill”).