cast one's bread upon the waters

verb

To perform a kind deed or favor without the motivation of any immediate reward or benefit to oneself, though with the possibility of eventual future return.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbcast one's bread upon the waters (third-person singular simple present casts one's bread upon the waters, present participle casting one's bread upon the waters, simple past and past participle cast one's bread upon the waters)

present singular third person casts one's bread upon the waters · participle present casting one's bread upon the waters

  1. idiomaticTo perform a kind deed or favor without the motivation of any immediate reward or benefit to oneself, though with the possibility of eventual future return.
    1 more example

    “… We shall always feel a melancholy pride, Mr. Grimsby and myself, in knowing that we recognised his quality, before there was any likelihood of financial remuneration. A succès d’estime, that was all, until this very grievous occurrence. But when the work is good, it is not our habit to boggle about monetary returns.” ”Ah, well!” said Wimsey, “it sometimes pays to cast your bread upon the waters. …”

    1930, Dorothy Sayers, Strong Poison

Origin

From the Biblical verse “cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.” (Ecclesiastes 11:1)

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

cast one's bread upon the waters. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cast%20one's%20bread%20upon%20the%20waters

MLA

“cast one's bread upon the waters.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cast%20one's%20bread%20upon%20the%20waters. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cast one's bread upon the waters,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cast%20one's%20bread%20upon%20the%20waters.

Source: cast one's bread upon the waters on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.