monkey bread: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
LowInformal, culinary
Quick answer
What does “monkey bread” mean?
A sweet, sticky pastry made from balls of dough, often coated with cinnamon sugar and baked together in a Bundt pan, so that pieces can be pulled apart.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A sweet, sticky pastry made from balls of dough, often coated with cinnamon sugar and baked together in a Bundt pan, so that pieces can be pulled apart.
Can refer to the fruit or seed pods of the Baobab tree, also called 'monkey bread fruit', from which a powder is made. In gardening, it's a common name for the shrub Cercis canadensis (Eastern Redbud).
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
In the US, it almost exclusively refers to the sweet pull-apart pastry. In the UK, it is more likely to refer to the fruit of the Baobab tree (Adansonia digitata).
Connotations
US: cozy, homemade, festive dessert. UK/Commonwealth: exotic, African, nutritional supplement.
Frequency
The pastry term is common in US home baking and community cookbooks but rare in formal UK contexts. The baobab fruit meaning is standard in botanical/UK texts.
Grammar
How to Use “monkey bread” in a Sentence
[make/bake] monkey bread[pull apart] the monkey bread[coat] monkey bread [in cinnamon sugar][refer to] as monkey breadVocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “monkey bread” in a Sentence
noun
British English
- The monkeys fed on the ripe monkey bread from the baobab.
- Monkey bread powder is rich in vitamin C.
American English
- We're having monkey bread for Sunday brunch.
- She scrolled through dozens of monkey bread recipes online.
adjective
British English
- The monkey-bread fruit is highly nutritious.
- We studied the monkey-bread tree's ecosystem.
American English
- Bring your best monkey-bread recipe to the bake-off.
- The monkey-bread pan needs thorough greasing.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Rare, except in food import/export for baobab powder.
Academic
Used in botany and ethnobotany for the baobab fruit.
Everyday
Common in US home cooking and baking blogs.
Technical
Specific to culinary arts (pastry) or botany.
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “monkey bread”
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms of “monkey bread”
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “monkey bread”
- Using 'monkey bread' to mean banana bread. Treating it as a countable noun ('a monkey bread' instead of 'some monkey bread' or 'a monkey bread loaf').
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No. The name for the pastry likely comes from its appearance, where pieces are pulled apart like monkeys clambering on a tree. The name for the baobab fruit comes from it being a food source for monkeys.
In the US, it's primarily a sweet pastry. In the UK and Commonwealth, it's more commonly the fruit of the baobab tree.
In the US, it's typically served as a dessert, sweet breakfast, or brunch item.
In the US, some bakeries and supermarkets sell it, especially around holidays. It is most commonly homemade.
A sweet, sticky pastry made from balls of dough, often coated with cinnamon sugar and baked together in a Bundt pan, so that pieces can be pulled apart.
Monkey bread is usually informal, culinary in register.
Monkey bread: in British English it is pronounced /ˈmʌŋki brɛd/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˈməŋki brɛd/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “[No common idioms]”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Imagine monkeys pulling apart sticky balls of dough from a central cake, just like they might pick fruit from a tree.
Conceptual Metaphor
TREES ARE BAKERS (monkey bread tree produces a 'bread' fruit); COMMUNITY IS SHARED FOOD (pulling apart one bread).
Practice
Quiz
Which of these is a correct description of 'monkey bread'?