What is "toaster"

Appliance \Ap*pli"ance\, n.

1. The act of applying; application.

2. subservience; compliance. [Obs.]
   --Shak.

3. A thing applied or used as a means to an end; an apparatus or device; as, to use various appliances; a mechanical appliance; a machine with its appliances.

4. Specifically: An apparatus or device, usually powered electrically, used in homes to perform domestic functions. An appliance is often categorized as a major appliance or a minor appliance by its cost. Common major appliances are the refrigerator, washing machine, clothes drier, oven, and dishwasher. Some minor appliances are a toaster, vacuum cleaner or microwave oven.

1580s, agent noun from toast (v.1). Electrical type is from 1913. In reference to a person who proposes or pledges a drinking toast, from 1704 (from toast (v.2)). Toaster-oven attested from 1957.

n. 1 One who toasts. 2 A device for toasting bread, English muffins, crumpets, etc. 3 A self-contained software package (or appliance) distributable over the Internet or by burning onto CDs. 4 (context informal derogatory English) An electronic organ, especially a crude one that uses analog technology. 5 (context informal derogatory English) Any of several small, box-like automobiles exemplified by the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scion%20xB and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda%20Element.

1. n. a kitchen appliance (usually electric) for toasting bread

2. someone who proposes a toast; someone who drinks to the health of success of someone or some venture [syn: wassailer]

A toaster, or a toast maker, is a small electric appliance designed to brown or "singe" sliced bread by exposing it to radiant heat, thus converting it into toast. Toasters can toast multiple types of sliced bread products. Invented in Scotland in 1893, it was developed over the years, with the introduction of an automatic mechanism to stop the toasting and pop the slices up–the "pop up toaster" in 1919 being a significant development. The most common household toasting appliances in the 2010s are the pop-up toaster and the toaster oven. Bread slices are inserted into slots in the top of a pop-up toaster, which make toast from bread in one to three minutes by using electric heating elements. Toasters have a control to adjust how much the appliance toasts the bread. Since the 2000s, pop-up toasters with wider slots have been manufactured, enabling them to toast bagels cut in half or thick-sliced "Texas toast". Another trend of the 2000s is the increasing availability of four-slice toasters.

Toaster ovens have a hinged door in the front that opens to allow food to be placed on a rack, which has heat elements above and below the grilling area. Toaster ovens function the same as a small-scale conventional oven. Toaster ovens typically have settings to toast bread and a temperature control for use of the appliance as an oven. Most are large enough to heat up a slice of pizza or a burrito and some larger models can be used to bake a small casserole.

A toaster is a device to toast bread. Toaster, or The Toaster, may also refer to:

The term "toaster" refers to a self-contained software package (or " appliance") that is easily distributable by electronic means, such as the Freedom Toaster project, This use generally connotes free software and is a term occasionally used in the open source software community."

A toaster appliance is often made up of software components that were not originally packaged together. The new toaster package provides a co-ordinated packaging framework in which all the components can function together as a self-contained unit.