near beer

noun

: any of various malt liquors considered nonalcoholic because they contain less than a specified percentage of alcohol

Examples of near beer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Anheuser-Busch also produced a Budweiser near beer, simply advertised as Budweiser. David Reamer | Alaska History, Anchorage Daily News, 23 July 2023 The beverage—which goes by a bunch of names, including non-alcoholic, low-alcohol, alcohol-free, or near beer—is simply regular brew stripped of booze. Ashia Aubourg, SELF, 31 Aug. 2023 The easiest option was non-alcoholic and near beers, the latter required to be less than one-half of 1% alcohol by volume. David Reamer | Alaska History, Anchorage Daily News, 23 July 2023 The near beer is not meant to be a refreshment, but a musical instrument. Michael Roberts, Outside Online, 17 June 2022 The overall effect is that today’s NA beer is practically indistinguishable from the real stuff, fighting the stigma that near beer is only for losers. Kate Browne, SELF, 23 Nov. 2021 So off the two ran to Loxy’s den, where Loxy began to speed-read his handy-dandy cookbook about slicing and dicing sweetmeat and Tex Mex green beans and chugalugging them down with mai tais, Tia Marias, pale ale and near beer. Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 July 2019 These are near beer compared to the photographic images. Mark Feeney, BostonGlobe.com, 5 Apr. 2018 But near beer should, in time, be good for the industry’s health. Stephen Wilmot, WSJ, 4 Aug. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'near beer.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1909, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of near beer was in 1909

Dictionary Entries Near near beer

Cite this Entry

“Near beer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/near%20beer. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.

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