biscuit

biscuit — noun

1. in British English, a thin baked snack — round or square, hard, and usually swee

1.nounA1
Definition

in British English, a thin baked snack — round or square, hard, and usually sweet — that you eat with tea or coffee or as a small treat.

Example

Grandma keeps chocolate biscuits in a tin on the kitchen counter.

typical collocation: chocolate biscuit

Dilnoza dipped her biscuit into a cup of hot tea before eating it.

common collocation: dip a biscuit in tea

Common collocations
  • chocolate biscuit
  • ginger biscuit
  • digestive biscuit
  • packet of biscuits
  • tin of biscuits
  • dunk a biscuit
  • tea and biscuits
Synonyms
  • cookie

    American English equivalent for sweet versions

  • cracker

    savoury, plain, often eaten with cheese

  • wafer

    very thin, light and crispy biscuit

Usage Note

British speakers use 'biscuit' for both crunchy sweet items (what Americans call cookies) and plainer dry ones eaten with cheese. Distinguish from sense 2: in the US, 'biscuit' is a soft savoury bread, not a sweet snack.

Common Mistakes

I baked some warm soft biscuits with butter for breakfast.' (UK reading)
I baked some warm scones with butter for breakfast.
UK biscuits are hard and dry, not soft like a US biscuit.
She ate a biscuit cake at the wedding.
She ate a slice of cake at the wedding.
a biscuit is itself a small cake, not a topping or layer of one.

2. in American English, a small soft roll of bread leavened with baking powder, ser

2.nounB1
Definition

in American English, a small soft roll of bread leavened with baking powder, served warm at breakfast or with savoury meals such as fried chicken and gravy.

Example

Aunt Rosa pulled a tray of golden biscuits from the oven.

typical scene: warm biscuits from the oven

The diner serves fried chicken with biscuits and gravy every Sunday.

set phrase: biscuits and gravy

Common collocations
  • buttermilk biscuit
  • biscuits and gravy
  • warm biscuit
  • fluffy biscuit
  • split a biscuit
  • bake biscuits
Synonyms
  • scone

    British equivalent — slightly sweeter and denser

  • roll

    more general term for any small bread loaf

Usage Note

Almost always American English — usually plural. Distinguish from sense 1: a US biscuit is soft, savoury, and often eaten warm with butter or gravy, while a UK biscuit is hard, dry, and usually sweet.

Common Mistakes

I dunked the warm fluffy biscuit into my tea.
I dunked the digestive biscuit into my tea.
soft American biscuits would fall apart; only hard British biscuits are dunked.
The chef baked sweet biscuits with chocolate chips for breakfast.' (US reading)
The chef baked sweet muffins with chocolate chips for breakfast.
US biscuits are savoury, not sweet.

3. in pottery making, clay that has been baked once in the oven but has not yet had

3.nounC2
Definition

in pottery making, clay that has been baked once in the oven but has not yet had a shiny coating added — for example, a plain bowl that still feels rough to the touch.

Example

The studio shelf was lined with white biscuit waiting for glaze.

typical scene: biscuit on shelf before glazing

Esme carefully sanded the biscuit before painting a blue pattern on it.

process: sand the biscuit

Common collocations
  • in biscuit
  • biscuit ware
  • fire to biscuit
  • biscuit firing
  • biscuit porcelain
Synonyms
  • bisque

    more common technical term for the same state

  • biscuit ware

    fuller noun phrase often used in pottery contexts

Antonyms
  • glazeware

    pottery already coated with a shiny glass-like layer

Usage Note

Specialist ceramics term, mostly uncountable. Often used in fixed phrases such as 'in biscuit' (still unglazed) and 'biscuit ware'. Do not confuse with sense 1 or 2 — context (a kiln, glaze, pottery studio) usually makes the meaning clear.

Common Mistakes

The vase was made of biscuits and clay.
The vase was still in biscuit before glazing.
this sense is uncountable and refers to a state, not separate objects.

4. a slang word for the small black rubber disc that ice hockey players hit across

4.nounC2
Definition

a slang word for the small black rubber disc that ice hockey players hit across the ice with their sticks.

Example

The commentator shouted that the biscuit was now in the basket.

famous hockey phrase: biscuit in the basket (= goal)

Coach Davis told the players to keep the biscuit on the ice.

tactical advice: keep the biscuit on the ice

Common collocations
  • biscuit in the basket
  • drop the biscuit
  • pass the biscuit
  • chase the biscuit
Synonyms
  • puck

    the standard, neutral term

  • rubber

    another informal hockey term for the puck

Usage Note

Informal hockey slang, mainly heard from commentators, coaches, and fans rather than in formal sports writing. The standard term is 'puck'.

Common Mistakes

The judge studied the biscuit before announcing the score.' (figure skating)
The judge studied the routine before announcing the score.
this slang only fits ice hockey, not other ice sports.
Idioms

take the biscuit

idiom

to be the most surprising, foolish, or annoying example of something — used when something has gone beyond what you can believe.

Of all the rude things Tom has said, telling Grandma her cooking was awful really takes the biscuit.

Charging twenty pounds for a tiny coffee really takes the biscuit, doesn't it?

Word family

  • biscuity
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words refer to thin baked items, but each fits a different food and a different region. 'Biscuit' is the everyday British word for a small dry sweet snack eaten with tea, like a digestive or a chocolate biscuit. 'Cookie' is the standard American word for the same kind of sweet snack, though American cookies are often softer and chewier. 'Cracker' is savoury rather than sweet — plain, salty, and usually eaten with cheese, soup, or dips, in both British and American English. 'Wafer' is much lighter and crispier, often layered with cream or chocolate, and is used worldwide. So if you want sweet and crunchy in the UK, ask for a biscuit; in the US, ask for a cookie; if you want salty, ask for a cracker.

biscuit ↗cookie ↗crackerwafer

Common collocations

Nouns

  • biscuit tin
  • biscuit packet
  • biscuit crumbs
  • biscuit dough

Phrases

  • a packet of biscuits
  • tea and biscuits
  • homemade biscuits
  • biscuits and gravy

Prepositions

  • biscuit with (tea / coffee)
  • biscuit in (a tin / a packet)

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

'Biscuit' comes from the Old French 'bescuit', meaning literally 'twice cooked'. The word was built from Latin roots: 'bis' (twice) and 'coctus' (cooked). Sailors and soldiers once carried hard, dry bread that had been baked a second time so it would last for long journeys without going bad. Over the centuries, this hard travel-bread softened into many shapes: a sweet British snack with tea, a soft American breakfast roll, a slang word for a hockey puck, and even a stage in pottery making before the shiny glaze is added.