Skip to main content
PlainSpell

toast

/toʊst/noun, verb

toast is spelled T-O-A-S-T: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 9.1 times per million words in written English, the 7,553rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, toast means “Bread that has been toasted (cooked lightly by browning)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of toast is toasts.

How many letters and syllables are in toast?

Letters5: T-O-A-S-T
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing9.1 times per million words; the 7,553rd most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is toast?

Toast appears 9.1 times per million words in written English, the 7,553rd most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce toast?

  • UK /təʊst/
  • US /toʊst/
  • Australia /təʉst/

Toast has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-toast.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with toast?

10 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as toast from its last stressed vowel (/oʊst/):

Spelled with the same letters in another order: stoat.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of toast

  • toasts plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • tost
  • toasting participle, present
  • toasted participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does toast mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    Bread that has been toasted (cooked lightly by browning).

    I ate a piece of toast for breakfast.

  2. 2

    A proposed salutation (e.g. saying "cheers") while drinking alcohol.

    At the reception, there were many toasts from the well-wishers.

  3. 3

    A person, group, or notable object to which a salutation with alcohol is made; a person or group held in similar esteem.

    He was the toast of high society.

  4. 4

    USslangSomething that is irreparably damaged or used up, especially when destroyed by heat or fire; something which has been burnt to a crisp or incinerated.

    The metal frame survived the fire, but the plastic and rubber bits are toast.

  5. 5

    USslangSomething that will be no more; something subject to impending destruction, harm or injury.

    to become/be toast

  6. 6

    slangA type of extemporaneous narrative poem or rap.

  7. 7

    obsoleteslangAn old toast ("a lively fellow who drinks excessively").

  8. 8

    A transient, informational pop-up overlay, less interactive than a snackbar.

verb

  1. 1

    To cook lightly by browning by means of direct exposure to a fire or other heat source.

    We used to enjoy toasting marshmallows around the campfire.

  2. 2

    To cook lightly by browning under a grill or in a toaster; to grill.

    Top with cheese and toast under the grill for a few minutes.

  3. 3

    To engage in a salutation, often with raising of the drinking vessel, while drinking an alcoholic beverage in honor of someone or something.

    We toasted the happy couple many times over the course of the evening.

  4. 4

    To warm thoroughly.

    I toasted my feet by the fire.

  5. 5

    slangTo perform an extemporaneous narrative poem or rap.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Toast in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchpain grillé, toast, rôtie (toasted bread), griller (to lightly cook by browning over fire), porter un toast, trinquer (to engage in a salutation)
GermanToast, Röstbrot, Toastbrot (toasted bread), Trinkspruch, Tischrede (salutation while drinking alcohol), toasten (to lightly cook in a kitchen appliance)
Portuguesetorrada (toasted bread), tostar, torrar (to lightly cook by browning over fire), brindar (to engage in a salutation), brinde (salutation while drinking alcohol)
Spanishpan tostado, tostada (toasted bread), tostar, torrar, turrar (to lightly cook by browning over fire), brindis (salutation while drinking alcohol)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does toast come from?

From Middle English tost, from the verb tosten (see below).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after toast