tea bread

2.3

A sweet bread often made with dried fruit and served with tea

noun

: pan de té

I love having tea bread with my afternoon tea.

Examples

We enjoyed slices of tea bread with butter during the afternoon.
The café serves freshly baked tea bread alongside their tea selection.
Her homemade tea bread is always packed with raisins and spices.
The bakery sells delicious tea breads every weekend.
I served a slice of tea bread with my afternoon cup of Earl Grey.
The recipe for tea bread includes dried fruits and a hint of cinnamon.
We enjoyed homemade tea bread with butter during our tea party.

Synonyms

bread

vstea bread

805 1.0

A common food made by baking dough from flour, often with yeast

is a sweetened bun or loaf typically served with a hot drink and sometimes fruit

bun

vstea bread

164 1.0

A small round bread roll that is plain or sweet

is sweeter and often served with a hot drink and may include dried fruit

raisin bread

vstea bread

2 1.3

A baked loaf with raisins mixed into the dough, often eaten sliced and toasted

is sweetened and mainly served with a hot drink rather than usually sliced and toasted

teacake

vstea bread

1 2.2

A small sweet cake or bun often made with dried fruit and served with tea

is a sweetened loaf or roll often with dried fruit served with a hot drink

How Sweet

cake

850 1.0

sweet roll

4 1.1

tea bread

2.3

bread

805 1.0

Surface Forms

tea bread singular

tea breads plural

Morphology

tea + bread

The meaning is directly compositional: 'tea' (the meal/drink or occasion) + 'bread' (a baked product) yields a type of bread associated with tea, so a learner who knows both words can infer it is bread served with or for tea. This noun–noun pattern indicating purpose or association is common across languages, making the expression transparent to a B1 learner.

Etymology

The noun tea bread may come from the simple habit of serving a small sweet bread with a cup of tea in the afternoon. So it now means 'a sweetened bread or bun often served with tea'.