plural winos
1
informal + often disparaging
: a person (especially a person without a permanent place of residence) who is habitually drunk on wine
… his father was a wino, living on the streets …—
Kevin Murphy
Kevin MurphyHer every night out came under the gaze of the tabloids. … The "Voice of an Angel, liver of a wino" headlines wrote themselves.—Simmy Richman
Simmy Richman… I was relieved to get downstairs and find it was just one of the regular neighborhood winos, a placable fellow whom I have escorted out before with no hard feelings.—Victoria McKernan
Victoria McKernan2
somewhat informal
: a wine enthusiast or connoisseur
Perhaps your recipient is a wino but you don't have the budget for a subscription or would prefer the gesture of physically giving them a gift.—Louis Cheslaw
Louis CheslawThe perfect item for any wino who wants to take their tasting skills to the next level.—Wine Enthusiast
Wine EnthusiastExamples of wino in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Hank not only acknowledges the wino sleeping outside his stoop, but takes a minute to give him money.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 24 Aug. 2025
To promote their inventory, the staff hosts a free wine tasting, which is paired up with all sorts of cheeses, every Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. On Valentine’s Day, winos will be drinking pink bubbles as the store will be popping open everything from champagne to Cava.
—Miami Staff, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024
Feed your wino friend's sense of curiosity with the most popular wine club in the land.
—Jasmine Gomez, Women's Health, 11 Aug. 2023
Some started at The Sweet Factory, then spent the afternoon dipping a hand into the candy bag like a wino with a bottle.
—Rich Cohen, wsj.com, 29 Apr. 2023
These were given suitably stupid names, like selectrons, sneutrinos, squarks, photinos, and my personal (least) favorite, the wino boson.
—Paul Sutter, Ars Technica, 27 Jan. 2023
If your uncle is a wino, this is the membership service to set him up with.
—Mark Stock, Men's Health, 15 Dec. 2022
During a 1968 vote-fraud investigation with the Chicago Daily News, Recktenwald went undercover as a Skid Row wino and registered to vote at a succession of flophouses over several weeks.
—Bob Goldsborough, chicagotribune.com, 23 Aug. 2021
The business also hosts events, including wine tastings and wino bingo.
—Hannah Kirby, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 13 Feb. 2020
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Peter Debruge, Variety, 24 Aug. 2025
To promote their inventory, the staff hosts a free wine tasting, which is paired up with all sorts of cheeses, every Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. On Valentine’s Day, winos will be drinking pink bubbles as the store will be popping open everything from champagne to Cava.
—Miami Staff, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024
Feed your wino friend's sense of curiosity with the most popular wine club in the land.
—Jasmine Gomez, Women's Health, 11 Aug. 2023
Some started at The Sweet Factory, then spent the afternoon dipping a hand into the candy bag like a wino with a bottle.
—Rich Cohen, wsj.com, 29 Apr. 2023
These were given suitably stupid names, like selectrons, sneutrinos, squarks, photinos, and my personal (least) favorite, the wino boson.
—Paul Sutter, Ars Technica, 27 Jan. 2023
If your uncle is a wino, this is the membership service to set him up with.
—Mark Stock, Men's Health, 15 Dec. 2022
During a 1968 vote-fraud investigation with the Chicago Daily News, Recktenwald went undercover as a Skid Row wino and registered to vote at a succession of flophouses over several weeks.
—Bob Goldsborough, chicagotribune.com, 23 Aug. 2021
The business also hosts events, including wine tastings and wino bingo.
—Hannah Kirby, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 13 Feb. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Wino.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wino. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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