zwieback

Z10W4I1E1B3A1C3K5

noun

A form of rusk, usually sweetened bread enriched with eggs that is baked and then sliced and toasted until dry and crisp; considered easy to digest and therefore given to the ill and used as a teething food for toddlers.

“Ogden Nash, Adventures Of Isabel She nibbled the zwieback that she always fed off, And when it was gone, she cut the giant's head off.”

Similar
ruskBrussels biscuittwice-baked bread
OriginGerman Zwieback ← Italian biscotto →
Scrabble 28
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Meanings

nounzwieback (countable and uncountable, plural zwiebacks)

plural zwiebacks

  1. countableuncountableA form of rusk, usually sweetened bread enriched with eggs that is baked and then sliced and toasted until dry and crisp; considered easy to digest and therefore given to the ill and used as a teething food for toddlers.

    Ogden Nash, Adventures Of Isabel She nibbled the zwieback that she always fed off, And when it was gone, she cut the giant's head off.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounslice of sweet raised bread baked again until it is brown and hard and crisp

Similar
ruskBrussels biscuittwice-baked bread
Broader
toast
Also see
rusktwice-baked bread

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Italianbiscotto
  2. GermanZwieback
  3. Englishzwieback

From German Zwieback, from zwie- (“twi-, two-”) + backen (“to bake”) (i.e. “twice-baked”), a calque of Italian biscotto (but not to be confused with it).

More words from German, Italian

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish korppu
  • korppuTranslations
German Zwieback
  • ZwiebackTranslations
Icelandic tvíbaka
  • tvíbakaTranslations
Italian fetta biscottata
  • fetta biscottataTranslations
Polish suchar
  • sucharTranslations
Romanian pesmet
  • pesmetTranslations
Russian сдобный сухарь
  • сдобный сухарь (sdobnyj suxarʹ)Translations
Turkish peksimet
  • peksimetTranslations
Ukrainian сухар
  • сухар (suxar)Translations
Cite this entry
APA

zwieback. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/zwieback

MLA

“zwieback.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/zwieback. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “zwieback,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/zwieback.

Source: zwieback on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.