What does baster mean?
A baster is a common kitchen tool designed for basting — the technique of spooning or squirting liquid over food as it cooks to keep it moist and flavourful. Most often made of heatproof glass or plastic with a soft rubber bulb at one end, the baster draws pan juices, melted fat, or marinade up into its tube when the bulb is squeezed and released, then dispenses the liquid evenly over roasting meats such as turkey, chicken, or beef. A smaller variant, sometimes called a turkey baster, is a fixture of holiday cooking in many households. Although the word can occasionally refer to a cook who bastes, this sense is rare; in practice, 'baster' means the utensil itself. It carries no particular emotional connotation beyond its cozy association with home cooking and festive roasts, making it a familiar and useful term in recipes, kitchenware descriptions, and everyday culinary conversation.
A kitchen utensil consisting of a tube with a rubber bulb, used to draw up and squirt liquid over food during cooking.
"Use the baster to coat the ham with its glaze every half hour."
This is by far the dominant sense in modern usage.
A person who bastes food while it is cooking.
"An experienced baster knows just when the roast needs another round of juices."
Standard regular plural; applies to both senses but most naturally refers to multiple utensils.
"The kitchen drawer was stocked with two basters and a whisk."
The humble baster has saved countless holiday turkeys from dryness — one squeeze of its bulb at a time.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of baster
The word baster derives from the verb baste, meaning to moisten food with liquid during cooking, a verb recorded in English cookery by the late medieval period whose deeper origins remain uncertain — it may be connected to Old French. From this verb English formed the agent noun baster, which came to denote both the person performing the action and, more durably, the utensil invented for the purpose.
How baster is actually used
In everyday usage, 'baster' almost always refers to the kitchen utensil rather than the person; the instrument sense dominates in both British and American English. The word is neutral in register and appears mainly in culinary contexts.
Easily confused with baster
Baste is the verb meaning to moisten food with liquid during cooking (or to sew with loose stitches), while a baster is the noun naming the utensil used to do it.