Etymology From Middle English tost, from the verb tosten (see below). Etymology 1 sense 3 is according to the Oxford English Dictionary a figurative application of etymology 1 sense 1 dating to 1674. It began as an epithet for a lady being supposed to flavour a bumper like a spiced toast placed in that drink. (In this context, a bumper is a drinking vessel filled to the brim.)
Bread that has been toasted (cooked lightly by browning).
I ate a piece of toast for breakfast.
This toast and marmalade tastes heavenly.
1 more example
Tea was a very special institution, revolving as it did around the ceremony and worship of Toast. In [public schools] where alcohol, tobacco and drugs were forbidden, it was essential that something should take their place as a powerful and public totem of virility and cool. Toast, for reasons lost in time, was the substance chosen.1991, Stephen Fry, The Liar, page 23:
2
A proposed salutation (e.g. saying "cheers") while drinking alcohol.
At the reception, there were many toasts from the well-wishers.
The evening meal was "a repast of most recherché description," involving an endless series of toasts to almost everybody (with the notable exception of the other railway already serving Brentford, which came in for some hard knocks from various speakers).1960 February 23, R. K. Kirkland, “The Great Western and Brentford Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 79:
3
A person, group, or notable object to which a salutation with alcohol is made; a person or group held in similar esteem.
He was the toast of high society.
Josephine Baker did not become the toast of Paris by just shaking her booty for some theater gypsies as a party wound down.2014 May 28, John McWhorter, “Saint Maya”, in The New Republic, →ISSN:
4
US, Slang Something that is irreparably damaged or used up, especially when destroyed by heat or fire; something which has been burnt to a crisp or incinerated.
The metal frame survived the fire, but the plastic and rubber bits are toast.
5
US, Slang Something that will be no more; something subject to impending destruction, harm or injury.
to become/be toast
If I ever get my hands on the guy that stole my wallet, he’s toast!
3 more examples
You are going to be toast if you don't submit your school project on time.
In the script, as the Ghostbusters train their proton blasters on Gozer, Murray's character says, "That's it! I'm gonna turn this guy into toast." By the time the scene was shot, the filmmakers had decided the human form of Gozer should be played by the model Slavitza Jovan. Murray improvised various comments about her, including changing the line in the script to "This chick is toast." The Oxford English Dictionary recognizes Murray's ad-lib as the earliest known occurrence of "toast" with the modern meaning, calling the usage "proleptic."Ben Zimmer (22 June 2023), “'Toast': From Busting Ghosts to Burning Careers”, in The Wall Street Journal, New York, N.Y.: Dow Jones & Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 24 Jun 2023:
He [P. Hegseth] said the Iranian regime “are toast, and they know it, or at least soon enough, they will know it.”2026 March 4, Joseph Gedeon, quoting Pete Hegseth, “Pete Hegseth says Iranian regime is ‘toast’ as US expands military offensive”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
With the new Windows Push Notification Service, you can remotely send notifications from a cloud-based web service. In Windows 8, the majority of the Toast messages are standard duration toasts.2012, Nick Lecrenski, Doug Holland, Allen Sanders, Professional Windows 8 Programming:
9
A piece of toast.
Obsolete outside India
Go, fetch me a quart of Sacke, put a toſt in't.c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene v], page 52, column 1:
Etymology From Middle English tosten, from Old French toster (“to roast, grill”), from Late Latin tostō, -āre, frequentative of torreō (“to burn, grill”) from its perfect passive participle tostus (“grilled, burnt”).
1
To cook lightly by browning by means of direct exposure to a fire or other heat source.
We used to enjoy toasting marshmallows around the campfire.
2
Specifically To cook lightly by browning under a grill or in a toaster; to grill.
Top with cheese and toast under the grill for a few minutes.
3
Ambitransitive To engage in a salutation, often with raising of the drinking vessel, while drinking an alcoholic beverage in honor of someone or something.
We toasted the happy couple many times over the course of the evening.
You all have achieved so much together thus far, so I think that deserves a toast! Let's toast!
Toasting over a record does more than change the way that record is perceived by the audience: it creates a new piece of music with joint creative authorship, although the law does not support this characterization.2014, Richard James Burgess, The History of Music Production, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 168: