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Glite Dictionary
to bake up

to bake up

1 2.2
Make food in an oven like cakes or bread in a quick new way
  • phrasal verb
  • /beɪk ʌp/
translation icon : preparar
  • I'm determined to bake up the most amazing delicacies, force people to eat them, and then marvel over the fact that they're vegan, and then go back to my kitchen to bake some more.
  • bake up a batch

Examples

  • I'm linking up with Debbie a day late, but I have to say that her post yesterday on donuts drove me to get 2 donut pans at Walmart today, and I think I know what I'll be baking up tomorrow.

    Blog text (12)

  • Signe is the kind of woman who, if she has a couple of eggs, will just bake up some apple fritters.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • Save the seeds to bake up later for a delicious snack.

    Blog text (15)

  • If you lived nearby, I'd bake up one and invite you over for a huge piece, hon.

    Blog text (14)

  • We tweak the recipe and we bake up a batch when we need it.

    The Bourne Legacy (2012)

  • Bart, you know, whenever my boys bake up a batch of frownies, I take them fishing.

    The Simpsons Movie (2007)

  • Despite my online absence, I've been cooking and baking up a storm this summer and have some scrumptious low-sodium goodies to share.

    Blog text (30)

  • ... baked up some Effie Trinket cupcakes earlier this month and have printable wrappers available on Fictional Food in case you want to make them for yourself!

    Blog text (15)

  • Signe is the kind of woman who, if she has a couple of eggs, will just bake up some apple fritters.

  • I can't wait to bake up a perfect batch with your tips.

Synonyms

to cook
vsto bake up
∞ 1.0

To prepare food by heating it, for example by boiling or frying

restricts the action to oven-made goods and creative spontaneous preparation
to bake
vsto bake up
388 1.0

To cook food in an oven with dry heat

is focused on making oven-made food in a creative or spontaneous way
to prepare
vsto bake up
374 1.0

Cook food so it is ready to eat

narrows this to oven-made creations often made creatively or on impulse
to whip up
vsto bake up
62 3.0

To quickly make food with little effort

focuses on oven-made items and creative spontaneity rather than speed alone
to cook up
vsto bake up
20 3.2

Prepare a quick meal by mixing ingredients you have

is limited to oven-made items rather than any quick inventive dish

Surface Forms

bake up infinitive
baked up past
baked up past participle
baking up present participle
bakes up third person singular

Morphology

bake + up

The meaning 'to prepare or create baked food' is directly derivable from 'bake' (to cook in an oven) combined with the particle 'up', which here signals creation/completion or doing something quickly. This verb+particle composition is a common, productive pattern in English and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.

Etymology

Bake up comes from a simple kitchen picture: someone mixes ingredients and puts them into the oven to make something new. The word bake is the oven action and up adds the idea of making or finishing, so bake up means 'to make baked food', often in a quick or creative way.