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French bread

French bread

5 1.0
A long crusty white bread like a baguette served with meals
  • noun
  • /frɛntʃ brɛd/
translation icon : pan francés
  • Street vendors hawk flowers and loaves of French bread.
  • a loaf of French bread
  • slices of French bread
  • crusty French bread

Probably like, French bread is really good, you know, like crusty bread.

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Examples

  • About this time, Julia Child began to lecture on the nature of French bread.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • "What are you interested in?" I buttered a piece of hot French bread.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • All this time I thought I was eating French bread.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • The food was excellent, served with rice and French bread.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • I was bringing home some French bread and red roses.

  • So, what's the difference between a good and a bad French bread?

    Fiction book (2002)
  • I mopped up the sauce with a piece of French bread.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Neumann served red wine and French bread with the mushrooms.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • Nothing is better than a plain slice of French bread with jam, Nutella, or scones with cream and jam.

    Blog text (2)
  • On Friday afternoons, many wait outside to buy Andre's fabulous French bread, warm from the oven.

Synonyms

baguette
vsFrench bread
22 2.6

A long thin loaf of French bread with a crisp crust and soft inside

is a general name for crusty white loaves rather than this single shape
sourdough bread
vsFrench bread
3 2.8

Bread made with a natural starter that has a slightly sour taste and a chewy crust

focuses on crusty white long loaves rather than the fermentation method
miche
vsFrench bread
1 9.3

A large round loaf of bread with a thick crust

is typically long and slender rather than large round country shapes
French loaf
vsFrench bread
  • US
1.6

A long thin loaf of white bread with a crisp crust, like a baguette

is a broader category covering long slender loaves including that type
ficelle
vsFrench bread
9.8

A long thin bread like a narrow baguette

is the standard long slender loaf rather than an unusually narrow version
boule
vsFrench bread
6.5

A round loaf of bread with a thick crust and soft inside

is usually long and slender rather than round and compact

How Crusty

baguette
22 2.6
French bread
5 1.0
pan-loafy
9.9
brioche
7 6.7

Surface Forms

French bread singular
French breads plural

Morphology

French + bread

The phrase 'French bread' is a straightforward combination of 'French' (relating to France) + 'bread', so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it denotes a type or style of bread associated with France. Cultural specifics like crustiness, baguette shape, or sourdough qualities are not fully deducible from the words alone, but the core meaning (bread from/associated with France) is directly compositional and predictable.

Etymology

French bread comes from the way bakers in France made long, white loaves with a crisp crust. Because people thought of that look as from France, calling a crusty, long white loaf 'French bread' became the usual name for that kind of bread.