wine

noun, often attributive \ ˈwīn \

Updated on: 13 Apr 2018

Definition of wine

1 a : the alcoholic fermented juice of fresh grapes used as a beverage

b : wine or a substitute used in Christian communion services

2 : the alcoholic usually fermented juice of a plant product (such as a fruit) used as a beverage

blackberry wine

3 : something that invigorates or intoxicates

4 : a dark red

See wine defined for English-language learners

See wine defined for kids

Examples of wine in a Sentence

apple, blueberry, and other fruit wines

Recent Examples of wine from the Web

Real wine was simply not available to most American cooks until well into the 20th century.

— julia moskin, charlotteobserver, "The art of the beef stew | Charlotte Observer," 10 Apr. 2018
The act legalized the sale of beer or wine with an alcohol content by weight of 4 percent or below.

— leada gore, AL.com, "National Beer Day 2018: Deals, discounts to celebrate your favorite brew," 6 Apr. 2018
The wines of Chianti Classico will never be powerhouses.

— patrick comiskey, latimes.com, "Wines of the week: 3 great bottles of Chianti," 5 Apr. 2018
Buy Photo With their centuries-old tradition, the wines of Burgundy are often superb but rarely inexpensive.

— craig laban, Philly.com, "Drink: Uncle Paul's red Burgundy from Jean-Louis Maissenet Bonnard," 5 Apr. 2018
Pontchartrain Vineyards wines and food from various Local Vendors will be available for purchase.

— sarah bonnette, NOLA.com, "Artscape: Mary Christopher turns her love for crawfish into Arts Evening poster art," 4 Apr. 2018
For the past five years, wine has been at the forefront of Melissa McAvoy’s life.

— lauren delgado, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Orlando wine bar owner receives advanced sommelier certification," 3 Apr. 2018
San Antonio bartenders have already poured nearly $100 million worth of beer, wine and cocktails to thirsty drinkers this year, state records show.

— joshua fechter, San Antonio Express-News, "San Antonio drinkers have spent more than $98 million on alcohol so far in 2018," 3 Apr. 2018
Katy's largest wine and culinary festival is ready to pour for a purpose.

— staff report, Houston Chronicle, "Ticket sales from Katy's upcoming Sip n Stroll benefit The Ballard House," 26 Mar. 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of wine

Middle English win, from Old English wīn; akin to Old High German wīn wine; both ultimately from Latin vinum wine, perhaps of non-Indo-European origin; akin to the source of Greek oinos wine

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

Other Alcoholic Beverage Terms

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

wine

verb

Definition of wine

wined; wining

intransitive verb

: to drink wine

transitive verb

: to give wine to

wined and dined his friends

See wine defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of wine from the Web

Purists, like Hovhannisyan, insist that fresh lavash—torn and folded for easy scooping—is the only acceptable utensil for eating khash, and that vodka, never wine or beer, is its only worthy sidekick.

— benjamin kemper, Smithsonian, "A Brief History of Khash, Armenia’s Love-It-or-Hate-It Hangover Cure (Recipe)," 27 Feb. 2018
Purchases of growlers and kegs include a chance to wine one of four $50 Beer Engine gift cards.

— carol kovach, cleveland.com, "Buckeye Beer Engine anniversary aids Lakewood Charitable Assistance Corp.: A Place in the Sun," 26 Feb. 2018
Cocktails frequently lose out to wine and beer at home because so much of what’s on menus requires more effort and expense than non-professionals are willing to commit to.

— anne brockhoff, kansascity, "Simple and delicious cocktails you can make at home | The Kansas City Star," 20 Feb. 2018
Pence’s press secretary’s comment comes after the Times reported last week that the vice president has been wineing and dining influential Republican donors at the Naval Observatory.

— lindsay kimble, PEOPLE.com, "Is Mike Pence Hedging Bets The Russia Scandal Will Make Him President?," 12 July 2017
SANTA ROSA, Calif. — In the heart of Northern California’s wine country, a civil engineer turned marijuana entrepreneur is adding a new dimension to the art of matching fine wines with gourmet food: cannabis and wine pairing dinners.

— thomas fuller, New York Times, "Marijuana Industry Presses Ahead in California’s Wine Country," 18 Mar. 2017