beer

play

noun \ ˈbir \

Definition of beer

1 :an alcoholic beverage usually made from malted cereal grain (such as barley), flavored with hops, and brewed by slow fermentation

2 :a carbonated nonalcoholic or a fermented slightly alcoholic beverage with flavoring from roots or other plant parts

birch beer

3 :fermented mash

4 :a drink of beer

See beer defined for English-language learners

See beer defined for kids

Examples of beer in a Sentence

Would you like beer with dinner?
The pub brews its own beer.
I'll have a beer, please.
a couple of cold beers
a glass of birch beer

Recent Examples of beer from the Web

The store sells an eclectic mix of pantry staples, soda, beer and wine, knickknacks and more.

— dana oland, idahostatesman, "Roosevelt Market’s building is for sale. It houses Boise’s last neighborhood market.," 28 Aug. 2017
A variety of Italian favorites will be available, and a beer garden will be open both days.

— Post-Tribune, "Community news," 24 Aug. 2017
Cantrell, who is very busy with Savor — which will have a pop-up beer dinner Sept. 23 with Panther Island Brewing — is no longer involved.

— robert philpot, star-telegram, "First bite: Protein Fit Kitchen in Southlake," 23 Aug. 2017
The Tria location will go out with a party, at which prices on sparkling wine, select cheeses and draft beer will be discounted.

— michael klein, Philly.com, "Tria Fitler Square to host farewell party," 21 Aug. 2017
Spivey, 48, drank a few beers and decided to go back out.

— john diedrich, jsonline.com, "'No face, no case': How one man tried to permanently silence the witnesses to his crimes," 18 Aug. 2017
Afterward, most of them retired to the North Buchanan Boulevard house for an afternoon and evening of drinking and drinking games, such as beer pong and washers.

— william d. cohan, The Hive, "How Stephen Miller Rode White Rage from Duke’s Campus to Trump’s West Wing," 9 Aug. 2017
Brian Smith, founder of Brooklyn's celebrated Ample Hills Creamery, offers two options: Macerate the fruit overnight by sprinkling it with sugar, then removing the juice that's released How to add beerBeer is also high in water.

— Popular Mechanics, "How to Make Ice Cream," 4 Aug. 2017
Peterson, who has a home elsewhere in the Hamptons, says for her the appeal of Sag Harbor is getting a basket of fried clams and a beer and sitting on the dock with her children.

— hannah seligson, Town & Country, "Why Sag Harbor Is No Longer the Hamptons' Best-Kept Secret," 4 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'beer.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of beer

Middle English ber, going back to Old English bēor, akin to Old High German bior "beer," Old Norse bjórr; perhaps all going back to a dissimilated form of Germanic *breura-, a nominal derivative of *brewwan- "to ¹brew"

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

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Other Alcoholic Beverage Terms

finish, gimlet, mull, sake, setup, sommelier, syllabub, vintner, wassail

BEER Defined for English Language Learners

beer

play

noun

Definition of beer for English Language Learners

: an alcoholic drink made from malt and flavored with hops
: a drink made from roots or other parts of plants

BEER Defined for Kids

beer

play

noun \ ˈbir \

Definition of beer for Students

:an alcoholic drink made from malt and flavored with hops

Learn More about beer

See words that rhyme with beer Spanish Central: Translation of beer Nglish: Translation of beer for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of beer for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about beer

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beer

Definition of beer

Examples of beer in a Sentence

Recent Examples of beer from the Web

Origin and Etymology of beer

Other Alcoholic Beverage Terms

BEER Defined for English Language Learners

beer

Definition of beer for English Language Learners

BEER Defined for Kids

beer

Definition of beer for Students

Learn More about beer

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