baker's dozen
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Also seen as: bakers dozen
Sense 1
Thirteen items, one more than a standard dozen
Examples
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Sense 2
Fourteen; that number of rolls being allowed to the purchasers of a dozen.
Era: ca. 1811 (Georgian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Grose’s Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811 edition, public domain; Project Gutenberg #5402, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Sense 3
thirteen. Originally the London bakers supplied the retailers, i.e., chandlers’ shopkeepers and itinerants, with thirteen loaves to the dozen, so as to make up what is known as the overweight, the surplus number, called the inbread, being thrown in for fear of incurring a penalty for short weight. To "give a man a BAKER’S DOZEN," in a slang sense, sometimes means to give him an extra good beating or pummelling.
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “baker's dozen” mean?
Thirteen items, one more than a standard dozen Literally: a dozen belonging to a baker
Is “baker's dozen” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.