- a sweet cake or soft biscuit that is made with ginger
- a gingerbread man (= a gingerbread biscuit in the shape of a person)
Oxford Collocations DictionaryGingerbread is used before these nouns:- cookie
Word OriginMiddle English (originally denoting ‘preserved ginger’), from Old French gingembrat, from medieval Latin gingibratum, from gingiber, from Greek zingiberis. The change in the ending in the 15th cent. was due to association with bread.Want to learn more?
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Idioms
See gingerbread in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionarytake the gilt off the gingerbread
- (British English) to do or be something that makes a situation or achievement less attractive or impressiveTopics Difficulty and failurec2
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gingerbread