baker

baker — noun

1. someone whose job is making bread, cakes, and other baked food, sometimes also s

1.nounB1
Definition

someone whose job is making bread, cakes, and other baked food, sometimes also selling it to customers

Example

The village baker pulled warm rolls from the oven at dawn.

village baker + bread from oven

After school, Nina worked part-time for a baker near the station.

work for a baker

Common collocations
  • village baker
  • local baker
  • wedding baker
  • head baker
  • work as a baker
Synonyms
  • pastry chef

    narrower and more focused on pastries and desserts, often in hotels or restaurants

  • confectioner

    usually makes or sells sweets rather than everyday bread

  • bread maker

    a plain descriptive phrase, not the usual job title

Grammar Patterns

work as a baker

a village baker

the wedding baker

Usage Note

Usually countable and often modified by place or specialty, such as village baker, wedding baker, or head baker. Distinguish from noun/2, which names the shop rather than the worker.

Common Mistakes

My sister works in a baker.
My sister works in a bakery.
baker is the person; bakery is the workplace or shop.

2. a place for buying bread, cakes, and other baked food, sometimes with its own ov

2.noun
Definition

a place for buying bread, cakes, and other baked food, sometimes with its own ovens in the back

Example

We bought warm buns at the baker beside the flower shop.

at the baker = at the shop

At six o'clock, the baker was already open on King Road.

the baker was open

Common collocations
  • go to the baker
  • buy bread from the baker
  • queue outside the baker
  • the baker on King Road
Synonyms
  • bakery

    the usual word in North American English and also common elsewhere

  • cake shop

    narrower and suggests a store mainly selling cakes

  • patisserie

    more formal or French-sounding, often used for finer pastries

Grammar Patterns

go to the baker

buy bread from the baker

the baker on King Road

Usage Note

Mostly British. In North American English, bakery is much more usual for the shop, while baker normally means the person in noun/1.

Common Mistakes

We stopped at the baker' in an American English context.
We stopped at the bakery.
bakery is the normal word for the store in North American English.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

For this sense, baker is the normal word for someone whose work includes making bread, buns, cakes, and similar food. Pastry chef is narrower and often sounds more professional or restaurant-based; it focuses more on fine desserts and pastries. Confectioner usually means someone who makes or sells sweets such as chocolate or candy, not everyday loaves. Cook is much broader and does not specially suggest bread or cakes. If Renata starts work at 4 a.m. to make rolls and sandwich bread, baker is the best word. If Leo designs wedding desserts in a hotel kitchen, pastry chef fits better.

baker ↗pastry chefconfectionercook ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • local baker
  • village baker

Phrases

  • buy bread from the baker

Prepositions

  • from the baker

Etymology

Proto-GermanicOld EnglishEnglish

Baker comes from the verb bake plus the ending -er, which is often used for a person who does a job. The word is very old in English and goes back to Old English bacere, built from an earlier Germanic root linked to baking.