Definition of 'bale'
Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular present
tense bales
, present participle baling
, past tense, past participle baled
1. countable noun [usually plural]
2. verb
If something such as hay, cloth, or paper is baled, it is tied together tightly.
[Also VERB noun] 3. See also
bail
COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word Frequency
bale in British English 1
noun
1.
a large
bundle, esp of a
raw or partially processed material,
bound by
ropes,
wires, etc, for
storage or
transportation
bale of hay
4.
a group of
turtles
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word origin
C14: probably from Old French bale, from Old High German balla ball1Word Frequency
bale in British English 3
verb
a variant spelling of
bail2
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word Frequency
bale in British English 4
noun
a variant spelling of
bail4
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word Frequency
Bâle in British English
noun
the French name for
Basle
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word Frequency
Bâle in American English
French
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word Frequency
bale in American English 1
noun
1.
a large bundle, esp. a
standardized quantity of goods, as
ginned cotton, hay,
straw, etc., compressed, bound, and
sometimes
wrapped
verb transitiveWord forms: baled or ˈbaling
2.
to make into a bale or bales
SIMILAR WORDS: ˈbundle
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Derived forms
baler (ˈbaler)
noun
Word Frequency
bale in American English 2
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word Frequency
bale in American English 3
noun
Archaic
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Examples of 'bale' in a sentence
bale
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In other languages
bale
British English: bale NOUN
A bale is a large quantity of something such as hay, cloth, or paper, tied together tightly.
...bales of hay.
British English: bale VERB
If something such as hay, cloth, or paper is baled, it is tied together tightly.
Once hay has been cut and baled, it has to go through some chemical processes.
Nearby words of
bale
Related terms of
bale
Source
Definition of bale from the
Collins English Dictionary
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