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Definition of french toast
french toast
french toast Lexical Profile
CEFR
A2
Grade
2
Tier
1
Usage
Top 10k
• noun
1
A sweet or savory breakfast dish consisting of sliced bread soaked in a mixture of beaten eggs, milk, and sometimes sugar or spices, then pan-fried until golden brown.
Example
"For Sunday brunch, we enjoyed a stack of fluffy French toast topped with maple syrup and fresh berries."
Word Nuance & Usage
Treated grammatically as an uncountable mass noun (e.g., 'some French toast' rather than 'two French toasts').
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
The term 'French toast' first appeared in print in England in the 17th century. The dish itself is much older, dating back to the Roman Empire, and was historically a clever culinary method to use up stale bread (known in France as 'pain perdu', or 'lost bread').
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.
180019102020
Data source: Google Books Ngram Viewer
Cite this Entry
Wordmom. (2026). Definition of French toast. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Oct 15, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/french toast