sherry

noun

sher·​ry ˈsher-ē 

plural sherries

: a Spanish fortified wine with a distinctive nutty flavor

also : a similar wine produced elsewhere

Examples of sherry in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Amid the American Prohibition-era design, bartenders mix sophisticated original drinks like the Consulate (Venezuelan rum, Italian vermouth, Amontillado sherry, apricot bitters; €15). —Seth Sherwood, New York Times, 15 May 2025

After that, Aden gets to have some fun concocting various flavors by finishing the spirits in different casks – like those previously used for sherry or rum – and by blending different ages together for complexity. —Tiney Ricciardi, Denver Post, 14 Apr. 2025

This is a very good sherry cask-matured whisky that sits in the Goldilocks zone of maturation—not too old, not too young—that should appeal to fans of the Macallan and fine single malt scotch whisky overall. —Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 6 May 2025

Gonzalez-Byass is one of the most famous sherry houses. —Per and Britt Karlsson, Forbes.com, 20 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

alteration of earlier sherris (taken as plural), from Xeres (now Jerez), Spain

First Known Use

1584, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for sherry

• aerie
• airy
• arie
• barre
• cherry
• clary
• dairy
• eyrie
• faerie
• faery
• fairy
• ferry

Kids Definition

sherry

noun

sher·​ry ˈsher-ē 

plural sherries

: a wine with a nutty flavor

Etymology

named for Xeres (now spelled Jerez), a city in Spain where the wine was originally made

Word Origin

It is common to name wines after the part of a country where they are made. The wine called sherry today was first made in a town originally called, in Spanish, Xeres. The English approximation of the Spanish pronunciation was \ˈsher-ēz\, spelled sherris. After a time, people thought that sherris was a plural and so made a singular form, sherry, by cutting off the supposed plural ending. The \sh\ sound symbolized by x in Spanish (later by j) changed to a \ḵ\ or \h\, so that the modern Spanish pronunciation of Jerez is even less like English sherry.